Percy Jackson: Lin-Manuel Miranda's Hermes Debut Makes Change to The Lightning Thief Book

Percy Jackson and the Olympians promises to be a faithful adaptation, but there will be some updates made to Rick Riordan's source material. This had been emphasized from the beginning, as stretching the 22-chapter The Lightning Thief across eight episodes meant that there was going to be some time to fill. Beyond including original scenes to help color in the story further, Riordan himself has made some changes to where characters first make their debuts. This was evident with the casting of gods like Hephaestus (Timothy Omundson) and Hermes (Lin-Manuel Miranda), as both of those characters don't show face until the later Percy Jackson books.

Lin-Manuel Miranda's Hermes Makes Percy Jackson Debut

Demigods! Welcome.

The new Percy Jackson and the Olympians trailer included the first visual of Lin-Manuel Miranda's Hermes. The messenger god greets Percy (Walker Scobell), Annabeth (Leah Jeffries) and Grover (Aryan Simhadri) inside the Lotus Casino as he plays at a table.

This is a notable shift from the Percy Jackson books, as Hermes does not pop up until the second installment, The Sea of Monsters. Beyond that, no gods were present inside the Lotus Casino at the time of Percy and company's extended cameo there. 

Hermes's presence in the new trailer is not limited to that quick glimpse either. His son, Luke (Charlie Bushnell), is shown multiple times throughout the fresh footage, mentoring Percy.

"We got to find out what you're good at," Luke remarks.

In the books, Hermes and Luke's tense relationship is the driving force of the saga's bigger picture narrative.

Percy Jackson and the Olympians debuts on Disney+ on December 20th.

Percy Jackson and the Olympians Season 1 is based off of the first novel in Rick Riordan's critically-acclaimed book series, The Lightning Thief. Starring Walker Scobell (The Adam Project) as the titular demigod, this eight-episode first season embarks Percy on a quest to return Zeus's stolen master bolt, as he is framed as the prime suspect. If he is not successful by the Summer Solstice deadline, the world bears the consequences of Mount Olympus in-fighting. The series also stars Aryan Simhadri (Grover Underwood), Leah Jeffries (Annabeth Chase), Glynn Turman (Chiron), Jason Mantzoukas (Dionysus), Dior Goodjohn (Clarisse La Rue), Charlie Bushnell (Luke), Adam "Edge" Copeland (Ares), Jay Duplass (Hades), Lin-Manuel Miranda (Hermes), Timothy Omundson (Hephaestus), Lance Reddick (Zeus), and Toby Stephens (Poseidon).