Rick Riordan Reveals Reaction to Early Percy Jackson Director's Cuts (Exclusive)

Percy Jackson and the Olympians is in its quest's home stretch. The serialized adaptation of Rick Riordan's best-selling book series has been officially in the works since Spring 2020, and after an extensive pre-production process, cameras began rolling in Summer 2022. Following the casting of Walker Scobell (The Adam Project) in the titular role as well as Leah Jeffries (Beast) and Aryan Simhadri (Cheaper By The Dozen) to round out the core trio, Percy Jackson production commenced in Vancouver and continued at an almost non-stop pace up to this past February. While all footage is now in the editing room, the CGI-heavy nature of the series means that post-production will continue for just about as long as production itself.

That said, significant progress is being made. Speaking to ComicBook.com's Liam Crowley at The Sun and the Star book tour, Riordan revealed that he has already screened "multiple cuts" of the entire Percy Jackson Season 1.

"I've seen cuts of all the episodes at this point, multiple cuts, because they do go through a manuscript," Riordan said. "They go through revision, after revision, after revision. They're great."

Season 1 is confirmed to follow the events of The Lightning Thief, the first novel in the original Percy Jackson pentalogy. That story chronicles Percy's half-blood origins, as he finds himself roped into a world of gods and monsters after he is framed for stealing Zeus's master bolt.

This Disney+ series represents the second time that Percy Jackson has gone Hollywood, as Logan Lerman-led film adaptations arrived in 2010 and 2013. Considering both movies were largely misses with fans and critics alike, Riordan has put a lot of hope in the eight-episode show to deliver.

"Honestly, I think my first reaction was relief," Riordan said regarding the early director's cuts. "I was like, 'Oh, thank goodness. I think the fans are going to be pleased.' That's all I want."

Later at the event, Riordan confirmed that Percy Jackson principal photography had an official duration of 180 days, which he noted is "really long" for a Hollywood production. He praised the show's ensemble for working "so hard" and emphasized that "they know how much you want this series to be good."

"None of the special effects are done yet. You can tell that it's not finished, but the story works," Riordan said.

Percy Jackson and the Olympians is currently in post-production and is rumored to arrive on Disney+ sometime in early 2024.