Is Disney Plus’ new Percy Jackson better than the movie? (critical)

Rick Riodan’s famous novels are adapted into a new television version that is much more faithful, and supported by an impressive young cast.

Logan Lerman is a good player. During a recent podcast, he sent his warm blessing to the team of the new series Percy Jackson, launched this week on Disney Plus, and which could well make us forget its cinematic version dating back to the 2010s. Two not entirely successful films, which notably failed to give birth to a long-term franchise for the studio. Disney therefore resets the counters. The bestsellers of Rick Riodan become a long-term TV series, with the writer at the helm as co-creator and co-producer.

Obviously, the result is much closer to the novels. This is even the reason for this mythological rehash. Percy Jackson and the Olympians has the ultimate command to scrupulously respect the original literary saga, when the film version had distanced itself, in particular by aging the characters. No, Percy and his friends are not big teenagers entering adulthood. These are children, barely around twelve years old, who are slowly entering puberty. And this new approach changes everything.

Basically, the story has not changed. We still have that kid from New York who discovers that the gods of Olympus exist for real. That he himself is a demigod, the son of Poseidon, caught in a biblical war with Zeus and Hades, after the disappearance of the famous lightning bolt. Hunted in the real world, Percy will be sent to a special camp where other children born from a union between gods and humans are collected and trained. But very quickly, the director of the place, Charon, encourages him to go on a quest to find the lightning and avoid a war that could destroy the Earth.

The very young Walker Scobellrevealed in the Netflix film The Adam Project, took over the role. He was not even 12 years old at the time of filming and thus gives a whole new dimension to the young hero. We are really dealing with a child, entangled in the problems of a little boy who discovers, through his quest, the world and life, the difficulty of satisfying his parents or honoring his heritage. What makes Percy Jackson and the Olympians a resolutely family program. Showrunner Jon Steinberg explains that he created the series with his 7-year-old son in mind to see it. Mission accomplished.

The excellent cast – led by Scobell, Aryan Simhadri (aka Grover Underwood) and Leah Sava Jeffries (who will reprise the role of Annabeth Chase), as well as some excellent supporting roles like Jason Mantzoukas in Dionysus – is not for nothing in the success of the series.

Certainly, the new Percy Jackson does not revolutionize the narrative and would have deserved a little more money to boost the special effects which sometimes sting the eyes. But the adventure is cool and the pace is effective, because each season aims to cover an entire book, with a beginning and an end, without downtime. The mythological spirit of Riordan’s novels does the rest. Result: this remake is not in vain and it is already a big victory for the little boy, who should have a bright future ahead of him on Disney Plus.

Percy Jackson and the Olympians, season 1 in 8 episodes, to watch on Disney Plus from December 20.