Disney+'s Percy Jackson Reboot Needs To Fix The Original's God Mistake

Disney’s Percy Jackson and the Olympians show can avoid some of the movie’s mistakes with its portrayal of Greek gods—particularly of the “Big Three.'

Disney+'s Percy Jackson Reboot Needs To Fix The Original's God Mistake

When the Percy Jackson and The Olympians series was adapted into movies, one of the ways in which they fell flat was their lackluster interpretation of the gods—Disney’s adaptation of Percy Jackson’s story has a chance to correct that mistake. Though the books had a strong fanbase, the 2010 film was a major disappointment. Unnecessary changes to the story’s plot and characters made the film completely different from its source material, and the childlike whimsy of the books was lost. With author Rick Riordan consulting for the show, Disney+ has an opportunity to deliver a much better result that more closely follows the Percy Jackson books.

In the books, the gods, whose appearances are meant to move the story forward as well as help build the mystic feeling of the adventure, are portrayed as outlandish, human-sized personifications of their powers (Zeus favors a pinstripe suit, while Poseidon wears board shorts and fishing hats). Most offensively, The Lightning Thief (directed by Chris Columbus) reduced them to aloof supernatural beings. Though the movie’s sequel tried to course-correct, the gods still failed to hit the right balance of eccentric and intimidating that the book characters achieved. The books frame the gods’ incredible power with their very mundane flaws, mirroring the complex relationships most of the demigods have with their Olympian parents.

While Percy Jackson’s story includes appearances from all kinds of mythological characters, three gods in particular play a bigger role in Olympus’s politics. Called the “Big Three,” Zeus, Poseidon, and Hades are more powerful than the others and strongly impact the plot. Zeus is king of the gods, and his authority and wrath are constantly impacting the young demigods’ quests, so a CEO-inspired look makes his character easy to understand without sacrificing his status or importance. The same goes for all the Olympians: humanlike, albeit eccentric, portrayals of the Greek gods make them easier to fit into the books’ themes of family and belonging. Poseidon’s role as an absent father puts Percy in the position of wanting to both love and to blame him, and dressing Poseidon in ordinary clothes helps humanize him and makes the complicated relationship easier to digest.

Hades especially should be reimagined more like his book persona. Though the movie depicted him with the aesthetic of a washed-up rockstar, the book describes him as the only god Percy thought actually looked “godlike,” bigger than a normal man and wearing robes seemingly made of human souls. His difference in appearance highlights the separation between Hades and the other Olympians, which continues to influence Hades’ role in the series as the tension between the gods builds. Hades is constantly belittled and mistrusted by the other gods, stoking his resentment towards them, and his intimidating appearance should reflect his potential as a possible antagonist.

Disney+’s series should highlight the Olympian gods’ personalities more deliberately this time around, using descriptions given in the books. To remain faithful to Riordan’s novels, portraying the gods as human as possible while still articulating their mysticism is crucial to the story’ themes of magic and family drama. Particularly by focusing on the impact that the “Big Three” have on the story, Disney can communicate the gods’ relationship with their children by giving each of them a physical identity that matches their personality. Hopefully, with Riordan sitting in the passenger seat of the series’ development, Disney+’s Percy Jackson and the Olympians will fix all the issues with the former Percy Jackson movies.