Disney+'s Percy Jackson Reboot Needs To Fix The Original's God Mistake
When the Percy Jackson and The Olympians series was adapted into movies, one of the ways in which they fell flat was their lackluster interpretation of the gods—Disney’s adaptation of Percy Jackson's story has a chance to correct that mistake. Though the books had a strong fanbase, the 2010 film was a major disappointment. Unnecessary changes to the story’s plot and characters made the film completely different from its source material, and the childlike whimsy of the books was lost. With author Rick Riordan consulting for the show, Disney+ has an opportunity to deliver a much better result that more closely follows the Percy Jackson books.
In the books, the gods, whose appearances are meant to move the story forward as well as help build the mystic feeling of the adventure, are portrayed as outlandish, human-sized personifications of their powers (Zeus favors a pinstripe suit, while Poseidon wears board shorts and fishing hats). Most offensively, The Lightning Thief (directed by Chris Columbus) reduced them to aloof supernatural beings. Though the movie’s sequel tried to course-correct, the gods still failed to hit the right balance of eccentric and intimidating that the book characters achieved. The books frame the gods’ incredible power with their very mundane flaws, mirroring the complex relationships most of the demigods have with their Olympian parents.
Related: Disney's Percy Jackson Show Has To Fix The Movie's Big Demigods Mistake
While Percy Jackson’s story includes appearances from all kinds of mythological characters, three gods in particular play a bigger role in Olympus’s politics. Called the “Big Three,” Zeus, Poseidon, and Hades are more powerful than the others and strongly impact the plot. Zeus is king
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