Rick Riordan has entrusted his world of demigods and monsters to a select few filmmakers. Percy Jackson and the Olympians kicks off under the leadership of director James Bobin (Alice Through the Looking Glass, The Mysterious Benedict Society). Bobin was one of the first talents to sign onto Disney+’s serialized reboot of Percy Jackson, as reports surfaced back in October 2021 that he was attached to direct. Beyond his directing responsibilities, Bobin also serves as an executive producer on the show, meaning he directly collaborated with later episode directors Anders Engström and Jet Wilkinson.
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Percy Jackson’s James Bobin Discusses Season 1
While Percy Jackson‘s fictionalized world knows the big three to be Zeus, Poseidon and Hades, the show’s behind-the-scenes crew recognizes the directing trio of James Bobin, Anders Engström and Jet Wilkinson. Bobin was tasked with setting the tone in the first two episodes before he passed the baton to Engström and Wilkinson for the remaining six episodes.
Speaking to ComicBook.com’s Liam Crowley at New York Comic Con, Bobin noted that switching seats with his fellow directors was a smooth shift.
“[It was] fantastic. I basically did the first two, and as the pilot director, you cast the show, you design the show and you set it rolling,” Bobin said. “Both Anders and Jett are fantastic directors and they work so brilliantly with the cast. The most important thing is that the cast stays the same. It’s continuity of cast and they did a brilliant job and their episodes also look beautiful. They did a great job.”
Disney+’s Percy Jackson promises to be a largely faithful adaptation of Riordan’s first book in the series, The Lightning Thief, which was exemplified in the three exclusive clips shown at NYCC. That said, Bobin only got to play with a handful of the franchise’s characters, as notable roles like Ares, Hades, and Poseidon don’t show up until the final chapters.
“I enjoy Jay [Duplass] very much as Hades,” Bobin said when asked which performances stuck out to him when watching later episodes as an EP. “That’s really fun. The tone kind of carries on naturally by itself to a degree because the actors know what they’re doing. The main principles know what they’re doing. So these guys come in like Jay, or obviously Lance [Reddick as Zeus] is incredible, and they kind of fit into that world. It’s really fun to see Anders do that and Jet do that. It’s really fun.”
Beyond producing admirable work, Bobin added that it was an enjoyable experience collaborating with Engström and Wilkinson.
“It’s fun working with other directors. It’s quite a lonely job being a director because you don’t get to meet directors very often,” Bobin continued. “So doing a show with by you get to collaborate with other people who are super talented is very helpful.”
Bringing multiple directors in for a season of television is a recurring Disney+ strategy. Projects like The Mandalorian and Andor have enlisted multiple filmmakers for their inaugural seasons, leading to critical acclaim and overwhelming praise from fans. The collaborative process would then be chronicled in Disney Gallery, an anthology roundtable series that featured the various directors discussing their work.
“Maybe. That’d be fun,” Bobin responded when asked if the Percy Jackson directors could partake in a future Disney Gallery roundtable. “Yeah, they’re great and they’re good talkers.”
Percy Jackson and the Olympians premieres on Disney+ on December 20th.
