What to know before watching percy jackson

By Emma Sink, 2026

Published 1/3/24

On December 20th, the first two episodes of Percy Jackson and the Olympians were released on Disney Plus and the series will continue each Tuesday. For some background: The Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan, which was released in 2005, was the first of five books in the Percy Jackson and the Olympians series. In 2010 and 2013 the first two books were adapted to movie format, but these were not hits. Not long after the movies came out, Riordan publicly stated his disdain for the films. He spoke about his lack of control over the movies, so this led to a break for Riordan from the industry. Now, he is back with full creative control of the new series.

In the start of the series, Percy had been experiencing things that are not exactly ordinary. He had always felt out of place at his school in New York (present day), but he found a good friend, Grover. After an incident it is found out that Percy is a demigod (half mortal-half god), and his father is Poseidon, the god of the seas. Poseidon is a part of the big three Greek gods along with Zeus (the god of the sky) and Hades (the god of the dead) who all made a truce not to have kids because of the power the child would hold. This kid would also decide the fate of the gods, which is one more reason that the truce exists. Percy will end up at Camp Half Blood where he meets Annabeth, half goddess-half mortal, who soon becomes his friend. There will be a journey with Percy and these two friends that will bring challenges and strengthen the characters. This series is well anticipated and will hopefully live up to the expectations!