Are you a fan of the Percy Jackson novels, watched the films and thought, ‘what on Olympus is this?’ Well, don’t worry, you’re not alone. Percy Jackson & the Olympians author Rick Riordan hates them, too. So much so, in fact, that he’d rather watch “two hours of blank screen.”
In a recent Twitter thread, the fantasy YA author joked how much Disney Plus must “hate” him for playing the films on his birthday, not before giving his own scathing review of the adaptation of his fantasy adventure series, the first film of which currently has a 50% score on Rotten Tomatoes.
“I don’t know, but clearly it’s a mistake,” Riordan said. “They should censor the entire thing. Just two hours of blank screen.”
“Well, to you guys, it’s a couple hours [of] entertainment,” Riordan added, responding to a fan’s reply that his hatred for the Percy Jackson & the Olympians movies was “refreshing.” “To me, it’s my life’s work going through a meat grinder when I pleaded with them not to do it.”
Percy Jackson & the Olympians is a YA fantasy book series about teen demigods. The first film adaptation, Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Lightning Thief, starred Logan Lerman as Percy, a young dyslexic boy who discovers he’s part demigod and is accused of stealing Zeus’s lightning.
Since it debuted in 2010, fans of the book series have heavily criticised it and the following films in the trilogy for not being an adequately faithful adaptation of the beloved novel franchise, which features a wonderful mix of queer, disabled and multicultural representation.
“Finally, I still have not seen the movies, and don’t plan on ever doing so,” Riordan reminded fans. “I judge them from having read the scripts, because I care most about the story. I certainly have nothing against the very talented actors. Not their fault. I’m just sorry they got dragged into that mess.”
Thankfully, with a more faithful TV series adaptation coming to Disney Plus later this year—with a script helmed by the author himself—we’re in for, finally, an authentic adaptation of the iconic and epic demigod-themed YA fantasy series. As Riordan says “it’s fine, we’re gonna fix it soon.”
Related stories
Native ad body.
Native ad body.
The 3 types of friends every girl should have
Native ad body.
Native ad body.
Remembering Liam Payne: Special Tribute Issue
On sale now