The best-selling Percy Jackson and the Olympians book series was turned into a film franchise that 20th Century Fox hoped would become their own Harry Potter. But after just two movies, it seemed the interest just wasn’t there, so fans never got to see the rest of the books brought to the big screen. That doesn’t seem to bother author Rick Riordan though, because he has been very outspoken about his hate for the movies, and he says the upcoming Disney+ series will not follow that same path of disappointment.
While responding to some fans on Twitter, Rick Riordan reiterated his hate for both Percy Jackson movies:
I don't know, but clearly it's a mistake. They should censor the entire thing. Just two hours of blank screen. https://t.co/nPq9TPg9Sd
— Rick Riordan (@rickriordan) June 8, 2020
It should be noted that we’re not sure what censoring this Twitter user is talking about. I’ve reviewed the original casino scene clip from Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Lightning Thief, and it hasn’t been censored in any way. But clearly Riordan would be happier if no one could watch the movie on Disney+.
Riordan responded to another fan who celebrated the author’s disdain for the movies:
Well, to you guys, it's a couple hours entertainment. To me, it's my life's work going through a meat grinder when I pleaded with them not to do it. So yeah. But it's fine. All fine. We're gonna fix it soon . . . ? https://t.co/YFuk55kGJU
— Rick Riordan (@rickriordan) June 8, 2020
Yikes. That’s pretty harsh. It’s gotta be hard to see something you wrote turned into a dissatisfying film adaptation. The same thing happened with Stephen King and Stanley Kubrick’s adaptation of The Shining. That’s not to imply that Percy Jackson is anywhere near the quality of The Shining (that goes for both the books and the movies), but it’s a harmless fantasy adventure that was a decent enough Harry Potter wannabe.
Finally, Rick Riordan again clarified that he’s never seen the movies, makes sure to leave the actors out of his dismissal of the films, and hypes up the recently announced Disney+ series based on the books:
Finally, I still have not seen the movies, and don't plan on ever doing so. I judge them from having read the scripts, because I care most about the story. I certainly have nothing against the very talented actors. Not their fault. I'm just sorry they got dragged into that mess.
— Rick Riordan (@rickriordan) June 8, 2020
If you’d like to hear more about Rick Riordan’s frustrating experience of seeing his books turned into movies, you can read a lengthy entry that he wrote about the whole ordeal on his website right here. Here’s an excerpt of an e-mail he sent to producers with notes on the script for the first movie:
“The script as a whole is terrible. I don’t simply mean that it deviates from the book, though certainly it does that to point of being almost unrecognizable as the same story. Fans of the books will be angry and disappointed. They will leave the theater in droves and generate horrible word of mouth. That is an absolute given if the script goes forward as it stands now. But the bigger problem is that even if you pretend the book doesn’t exist, this script doesn’t work as a story in its own right.”
The good news is that Riordan’s actually excited about the Disney+ series, which would imply that he’s much more involved in the process of how the five books in the Percy Jackson and the Olympians series will be brought to life for the streaming service. Hopefully they can deliver something that satisfies both Riordan and the fans who still love the books after all these years.
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