Sorry, Percy Jackson fans: Author Rick Riordan doesn't anticipate the Disney+ series coming out any time before 2022. Riordan's Percy Jackson and the Olympians has long been regarded as one of the best middle grade/young adult book series to emerge in recent years. They tell the story of Percy, a misunderstood boy who keeps getting kicked out of school for insane situations that aren't his fault. Percy soon discovers the real reason behind most of his troubles: He's a demigod, or one of the half-god, half-human children of figures from Greek mythology. The final book in the series, The Last Olympian, was released in 2009, but Riordan has since created several spin-offs like Heroes of Olympus and The Trials of Apollo.

The Percy Jackson fandom received some majorly good news in May when Riordan revealed the series is getting the live-action treatment at Disney+. While there wasn't much additional information to share (like casting or a release date), Riordan did confirm that he and his wife Becky will be involved with the show, which comes as a major relief for fans. Percy Jackson was previously adapted into two feature films, but they weren't exceptionally well-received by both fans and Riordan himself. In fact, Riordan has said he refuses to watch them.

Now that the general excitement over the fact that there's a Percy Jackson series on the way has faded, fans are curious about how long they'll have to wait to see it. Both Riordans offered an update on social media, and while progress is definitely being made, it's clear Percy Jackson won't be out any time soon. Becky shared that they are "Getting close to wrapping up the pilot outline," and "We are having a blast!" Meanwhile, Rick gave something of a clearer outline, explaining, "We are still in the earliest stages of writing, which will take months. Most optimistic guess 2 years? Maybe?"


As eager as fans are to see Disney+'s take on Percy Jackson, it isn't too surprising that it's going to take a while. After all, when the series was first announced, it was very clear that the project was still in the early stages. Plus, as Riordan mentioned in his tweet, the COVID-19 pandemic has messed with several developing productions. Now, depending on how things progress, two years could be a bit of an extreme guess, but it's probably better to expect a 2022 release.

If anything, this should come as a relief to Percy Jackson fans. This proves real work is being put into the series, and the Riordans' enthusiasm is a good sign. After the mess that was the live-action films, it's good to know this team is taking their time in crafting this new adaptation. Percy and his friends certainly deserve it.