How Rick Riordan worked with Disney+'s Percy Jackson creators to stay true to the books (while being open to inspiration and creativity)
"There was never a conversation with Rick and Becky where there was any sense of this must or must not be." says Jon Steinberg
Percy Jackson and the Olympians just debuted on Disney+ marking the popular book franchise's streaming debut. Two of the power houses behind the latest incarnation of Percy Jackson and the Olympians, Jon Steinberg (co-creator, showrunner, executive producer), and Dan Shotz (executive producer), prioritized the spirit of collaboration with series creator Rick Riordan and with the young cast - Walker Scobell (Percy Jackson), Leah Sava Jeffries (Annabeth Chase), and Aryan Simhadri (Grover Underwood ) - with the goal of living up to the love and anticipation the series has garnered from the moment it was announced.
Fortunately for us, Popverse’s Ashley V. Robinson is a huge Percy Jackson and the Olympians book fan who sat down with Steinberg and Shotz in Los Angeles to unspool the weight of exepectation the creators must have felt stepping up to the plate on Percy Jackson.
"There was never a conversation with Rick and Becky where there was any sense of this must or must not be," showrunner Jon Steinberg tells Popverse, "It was much more a conversation about tone and approach and what we wanted to achieve and it was very much a two way conversation."
Here is our 5-minute interview with Jon Steinberg and Dan Shotz.
Percy Jackson and the Olympians also stars: Jason Mantzoukas (The Good Place), Adam Copeland (Edge), Lance Reddick (John Wick), Toby Stephens (Lost in Space), Megan Mullaly (Will and Grace), and more.
Percy Jackson: How (and where) to watch the movies and show in chronological and release order! .
