Disney has a Christmas surprise for Rick Riordan fans: “Percy Jackson and the Olympians” has launched early on Disney+ and Hulu, one night ahead of its scheduled premiere on 20 December.
This is the second update Disney has made to the show’s release strategy: Last week, it was announced that the first episode of the series would debut on both Hulu and Disney+ and remain streaming until 31 January. The first two episodes are now available on Disney+, while the first episode is available on Hulu. New episodes will be released weekly on Disney+ until the season one finale on 31 January.
“We are so grateful for the amazing and dedicated Percy Jackson fans who have been so enthusiastic about this project from the beginning,” said Pamela Levine, Head of Marketing, Disney Branded Television and National Geographic Content. “They have been counting down the days, and as a special thank you, we wanted our fans to enjoy the first two episodes a little earlier than expected.”
The series has been long awaited by the Percy Jackson fandom. Rick Riordan published the first of five Percy Jackson and the Olympians books in 2005, and although 20th Century Fox adapted the first two books into films in 2010 and 2013, plot changes and Riordan’s disdain for the films made them unpopular. The last three books in the series never made it to the screen.
In contrast, Riordan is a writer and executive producer on the Disney+ series, which is set to release five seasons based on each of the five books.
Speaking to Variety for a Percy Jackson cover story in October, 20th Television president Karey Burke said the studio wanted “all” of Riordan’s books in the Percy Jackson universe, which extends well beyond the original five. “Despite the film experience he’s had before, he’s an expansive thinker about his work,” she said. “He doesn’t have a rigid interpretation of it. The other shows he’s created that live in this world are all part of our universe that we can adapt”.
