By Zach Johnson
We have an important message to share—and it's not from Hermes!
ICYMI, Bob Iger, CEO of The Walt Disney Company, recently announced that Disney Branded Television's Percy Jackson and the Olympians has been renewed for a second season on Disney+! The next chapter will follow Percy Jackson (Walker Scobell), Annabeth Chase (Leah Sava Jeffries), and Grover Underwood (Aryan Simhadri) as they embark on a new adventure based on The Sea of Monsters—the second installment of Rick Riordan's best-selling Percy Jackson and the Olympians book series, published by Disney Hyperion.
Heading into Season 2, Jonathan E. Steinberg—the series' co-creator and executive producer—said they will follow a similar formula in adapting Riordan's source material. "I think the goal is to take the book and find its soul, and the things that make the experience what it is for a reader, and then try to plant that in the ground a little bit and let it grow into something else," he said Saturday during the Television Critics Association's Winter Press Tour in Pasadena, Calif. "I think we were successful in engineering that in Season 1."
"People are obviously very excited that we’re keeping very true to the books and honoring Rick’s work," added executive producer Dan Shotz. "At the same time, they’re as excited about all of the new things that are being brought to this, which is really rewarding for us."
Steinberg confirmed that "a couple of scripts" have already been written for Season 2, adding that "they're in really good shape." However, he noted, "To boot up this machine again is an undertaking. There are a lot of trains leaving the station, all at the same time."
Wanting to capitalize on the franchise's momentum, the cast and crew hope to begin production on Season 2 "as soon as possible," Steinberg said. "I think we all feel the demand and response for people wanting to see more of this. But we want to do it right and make sure that the second season of the show lives up to—or surpasses—the first."
And if the cast gets their way, fans will see a few famous faces joining the cast. "Me and Walker, we really want Christopher Judge to play Atlas; he's the guy who plays Kratos in God of War," Simhardi said, adding that Judge "has that titan energy" required for a god who holds up the sky. Scobell and Jeffries agreed they want Zendaya to play Athena, the goddess of war, and Scobell also had someone in mind for the god of the sun: "I was watching The Hunger Games recently, and I thought Sam Claflin would be a cool Apollo."
The first season of Percy Jackson and the Olympians is now streaming on Disney+.
