The Percy Jackson franchise is finally getting the live-action treatment it deserves.
After a questionable attempt at turning Rick Riordan’s widely beloved book series into a film franchise, the mythic epic of a young demigod on an enviable quest finally found a home on Disney+ through a full-fledged TV show promising to turn each book into its own season. Any person who grew up reading the Percy Jackson books would know that this is no easy undertaking. On par with its dedicated fan base, the books are saturated with incredible world-building that’s hard to imagine fully finding a life onscreen.
And yet, Disney’s Percy Jackson and the Olympians defies any odds set against it and triumphs as an absolute must-watch for anyone familiar with the books or anyone ready to be a kid again. The show masterfully infuses new scenes while still sticking to its original source material, which is by all means a bible of sorts for any fans tuning in. But above its commendable details is its incomparable cast—Walker Scobell, Leah Jeffries, and Aryan Simhadri—who steal the show as the series’ lead trio Percy, Annabeth, and Grover respectively.
Are these three kids the next Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson, and Rupert Grint? Absolutely, even if you (or they) might not know it yet. It’s been awhile since Hollywood’s successfully put out a franchise helmed by such a thunderous golden trio—something that’s perhaps not been seen since The Hunger Games in 2012. Through Percy Jackson and the Olympians, the book character to Hollywood star pipeline is not only having a welcomed renaissance, but there’s no better cast besides Scobell, Jeffries, and Simhadri to bring it back.
“I don’t think it’s possible to appreciate it enough,” says Scobell during an interview with Complex. We caught up with the main cast of Percy Jackson and the Olympians to talk all things camp half-blood, bringing Medusa to life, and what it’s been like living out everyone’s childhood dream.
What was it like living out everyone’s dream and spending time in camp half-blood in real life?
Walker Scobell: It’s been weird, I don’t think it’s possible to appreciate it enough.
Aryan Simhadri: [Laughs] Yeah, that’s a good way to put it.
WS: Exactly! You can really tell when you’re at camp half-blood, too, [that] everyone is just so excited to be there. It felt like a real camp.
AS: And the amount of detail that they put into each cabin to make them unique and stand out.
Leah Jeffries: They should definitely put out a ride though. They should have one whole park, where there’s a part with camp half-blood and then the tunnel of love ride. It would just be so amazing, because then that way fans could experience it. That would be so cool.
AS: Like Avengers Campus in Disneyland.
WS: Or like Hogsmeade in Harry Potter at Universal. [Excited yeses pour in from everyone]
The camp is gorgeous. I think a lot of people are going to fall in love with it. To that end, what was your favorite moment or scene from the book to bring to life onscreen?
LJ: I like all the scenes because [the show’s] so good.
WS: Yeah! I would say the whole show if I could.
AS: Oh! The scene where [Grover] gets dragged into Tartarus, that I was really looking forward to.
I mean I’ve only seen the first four episodes, and it’s already clear how much the show is staying true to the books. But how do you guys think the show is different from the books, or what is it offering that audiences might not be expecting?
LJ: I feel like the only thing that’s different from the books is what we added new. The producers and directors took in so much time to add every detail from the book that I feel like everything is the same except for the things that we might have added—which is a good thing, I promise! That’s the only difference really.
Maybe there’s real-life people now and not just titles and stuff. That’s really the only difference because [the showrunners] did so good to go over and scan everything in the book to add into the series.
WS: I agree. I feel like we definitely touched all the bases and added more. All the little things that we did change were things that [Rick Riordan] was revisiting. You know what I mean? He hasn’t touched this book since he wrote it. I’d ask him questions about it, and he said the last time he read it was like right after it came out.
AS: Yeah I completely agree. I’m really glad that we got the format of a TV show because we get the time to flesh out characters. I’m really excited for everyone to see what we do with Medusa in the show. She was always such an intriguing character.
Oh, absolutely.
AS: Right?! Right, thank you. There’s so much story behind her and her origin, how she became Medusa—a monster with such a feared name. I’m really glad that we got to do all of that honor and justice in the show.
Jessica Parker Kennedy is phenomenal; she’s so good. So terrifying but gentle at the same time.
LJ: That’s what I was saying!
AS: Jessica killed it!
WS: Her voice is so compelling.
LJ: Like she made me think she was innocent for some reason. The way she was talking when she said, “You know, your mother, I loved her,” I was like—did you? I kind of feel bad now. Maybe I want to say sorry. [Laughs]
To wrap things up we have to know: Who would your parents be if you were demigods yourselves?
WS: I feel like mine would still be Poseidon. I mean it’s boring but—
It’s not boring! He’s literally Poseidon!
AS: It’s Poseidon! It’s the obvious choice.
LJ: I feel like I would stick with Athena or go with Zeus.
WS: Because you can fly, right? And control the winds.
And lightning.
All: And lightning!
Check out our Theater Talk with the cast of ‘Percy Jackson’ for more.
