Percy Jackson and the Olympians: trailer, cast and release date of Disney+ series - is it based on a book?

A new teaser trailer has confirmed the release date for original series Percy Jackson and the Olympians on Disney+, and fans can expect the show to land this year.

The series will follow 12 year old demigod Percy Jackson as he learns of his divine lineage and embarks on a quest with satyr (a woodland god with a goat’s legs) and a demigod daughter of Athena, to find the thief who stole Zeus’ lightning bolt.

The trio travel across America, encountering all manner of mythical beings on the way, as they attempt to prevent a civil war among the Olympian gods.

Filmed in British Columbia, Canada, from June 2022 to February 2023, the series will launch the next phase in the Percy Jackson media franchise. 

Who is in the cast of Percy Jackson and the Olympians?

• Walker Scobell as Percy Jackson
• Aryan Simhadri as Grover Underwood
• Leah Jeffries as Annabeth Chase
• Threnody Tsai as Sarah
• Jason Gray-Stanford as Maron
• Jelena Milinkovic as Nereid
• Ryan Cowie as Chaperone
• Lance Reddick as Zeus
• Jessica Parker Kennedy as Medusa
• Jason Mantzoukas as Dionysus
• Timothy Omundson as Hephaestus
• Toby Stephens as Poseidon
• Megan Mullally as Alecto
• Adam Copeland as Ares
• Lin-Manuel Miranda as Hermes
• Suzanne Cryer as Echidna
• Virginia Kull as Sally Jackson
• Glynn Turman as Chiron

Is there a trailer for Percy Jackson and the Olympians?

Yes there is, and you can watch it right here:

Is Percy Jackson and the Olympians based on a book?

The Disney+ show is based on the five novel young adult series of the same name by American author Rick Riordan, written between 2005 and 2009.

The novels in the series are: The Lightning Thief, The Titan's Curse, The Battle of the Labyrinth, and The Last Olympian. A sixth book in the series, The Chalice of the Gods, is due to be released in September.

The first season will be based primarily on the first book in the series, Percy Jackson and the Lighting Thief, which sees the young demigod accused of stealing Zeus’ thunderbolt.

The Olympians series is part of a larger book series, the Camp Half-Blood Chronicles, which also contains the The Heroes of Olympus, and The Trials of Apollo five part book series, as well as two anthologies. 

The Camp Half-Blood Chronicles are set in an alternate 21st century where Greek gods roam the world.

The first two Olympians books were adapted into films, with Logan Lerman starring as the hero Percy Jackson. The films both made a tidy profit of just over $100 million each, though the second film made less than the first. 

A planned third instalment was cancelled when Sea of Monsters received a poor response and it was feared that each instalment would reap smaller returns, as was the case with the Chronicles of Narnia films.

When is the release date of Percy Jackson and the Olympians?

Percy Jackson will premiere on Disney+ on 20 December 2023 - there are eight episodes in the first season. The Logan Lerman films, Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief, and its sequel Sea of Monsters, are available to stream on Disney+ now.