With Harry Potter (courtesy of HBO) and Twilight seemingly confirmed for a TV reboot, it stands to reason that Percy Jackson is coming to the small screen, too.

Since he published his very first book about the eponymous demigod, Rick Riordan has been selling over 11 million copies of his books each year – and then some. Much like his fans, however, the author was deeply unimpressed with the 2010 and 2013 films, largely because they… well, they changed the story and the characters. Indeed, other than the circumstances surrounding our hero’s lineage (more on that in a moment), the only real similarity between the books and the movies was the name ‘Percy Jackson’ itself.

Now, though, things are about to change; Riordan has joined forces with Disney+ to bring us a genuinely faithful adaptation to the novels at long last. 

And we, like so many other nostalgic readers out there, honestly cannot wait to sink our teeth into the big-budget series.

Watch the trailer for Percy Jackson And The Olympians below:

Excited? Here’s what you need to know.

What is Percy Jackson And The Olympians about?

Much like the bestselling book series, Percy Jackson And The Olympians is all about a 12-year-old boy who learns that he is the son of a Greek god – Poseidon, to be specific – and that he is no longer safe in the human world as a result.

“After losing his mother, Percy is sheltered at Camp Half-Blood, a sanctuary for demigod children,” reads the official synopsis. “He must prove himself and confront his origins once he discovers he too is a demigod, and will take off into the perils of pursuing enemies in search of the Underworld. With the help of his quest mates Annabeth and Grover, Percy’s journey will lead him closer to the answers he seeks: how to fit into a world where he feels out of place, if he’ll ever see his mother again, and if he can ever find out who he’s destined to be.”

Throw in the fact he has to journey across America to return Zeus’s master bolt and stop an all-out war, and you have a boy set to endure a seriously intense first year of demigod school.

Who stars in Percy Jackson And The Olympians?

While the films were criticised for ageing up the book’s 12-year-old characters, transforming them instead into angsty teenagers, Percy Jackson And The Olympians has been praised for casting the central roles correctly.

“One of the ways that that manifested is making sure that we found actors who were an age that was appropriate for the way Percy is at the beginning of the books, so that viewers could watch Percy and Annabeth and Grover grow up on the screen, the way that you read about them growing up from age 12 to 16 in the five books,” Riordan, who serves as an executive producer on the series, explains to The Hollywood Reporter.

“I’m certainly gratified that we did it that way, because the young actors that we found are fantastic.”

Walker Scobell will star as Percy Jackson, Leah Jeffries as Annabeth Chase and Aryan Simhadri as Grover Underwood. 

They are joined by a seriously starry cast, including:

• Lin-Manuel Miranda – Hermes
• Virginia Kull – Sally Jackson
• Jessica Parker Kennedy – Medusa
• Timm Sharp – Gabe Ugliano
• Suzanne Cryer – Echidna
• Glynn Turman – Chiron
• Megan Mullally – Alecto
• Toby Stephens – Poseidon
• Jay Duplass – Hades
• Adam Copeland – Ares
• Timothy Omundson – Hephaestus
• Charlie Bushnell – Luke Castellan
• Jason Mantzoukas – Dionysus
• Dior Goodjohn – Clarisse La Rue
• Olivea Morton – Nancy Bobofit
• Jason Gray-Stanford – Maron

Lance Reddick will also star as Zeus in the series, in one his final roles before his death in March this year.

What are people saying about Percy Jackson And The Olympians?

While Riordan was initially hesitant about allowing his books to be adapted for the screen again (“I hadn’t had the best experience before,” he says), the author decided to work closely with Disney on the project.

“It’s not an industry that I know or that I’ve ever honestly wanted to be a part of. It’s not something that I ever dreamed about, becoming a producer. I’m perfectly happy writing books,” he tells The Hollywood Reporter. “But I knew that the fans of the books really, really wanted a good adaptation, another try. So it was really for them.”

It’s a gamble that certainly seems to have paid off, with fans falling over themselves to wax lyrical about the trailer on YouTube.

“When you can piece together every part of the trailer to a specific part of the book, that’s when you know they did their research!” reads one excited comment.

“This honestly looks better than anything I could imagine,” reads another.

And one more says: “My 29-year-old self is crying with pure joy right now. This series meant so much to me growing up. I have read and loved this series a dozen times. I’m a forever and always fan and will definitely be watching.”

When can we watch Percy Jackson And The Olympians?

Percy Jackson And The Olympians will premiere on Disney+ on 20 December. Fingers crossed it lives up to the hype, eh?

Images: Disney+