New ‘Percy Jackson’ Trailer Teases Epic Chariot Race

The first season of Percy Jackson and the Olympians premiered in December 2023. Based on the well-loved children’s books, fans hoped it would do justice to the source material – and by the numbers, it seems to have succeeded.

Season 1 received a 91% rating from critics on Rotten Tomatoes and was generally well-received by fans as well. Within its first six days on Disney+ and Hulu, the initial episode racked up 13.3 million viewers, making it one of the top five most-watched premieres of 2023 on both platforms.

Just a week after the Season 1 finale, a second season of Percy Jackson and the Olympians was announced. Here are the details we have so far, focusing on its release date, episode count, and cast:

Disney announced at D23 that Season 2 would be available to stream in 2025, although an exact release date is yet to be revealed.

Since the TV show is based on a book series, fans have a good idea of what to expect. Season 1 closely followed the first book – The Lightning Thief – so it’s likely that Season 2 will adapt the second book, The Sea of Monsters. Rick Riordan, the original author and an executive producer of the show, confirmed this in a Disney press release in February, saying, “I can’t wait to bring the next season of Percy Jackson to Disney+! Raise anchors. Hoist the mainsail. All hands on deck, demigods. We’re heading for the Sea of Monsters!”

Disney shared an official synopsis of the new season at the D23 event in August: “In the new season, Percy Jackson returns to Camp Half-Blood one year later to find his world turned upside down. His friendship with Annabeth is changing, he learns he has a cyclops for a brother, Grover has gone missing, and camp is under siege from the forces of Kronos. Percy’s journey to set things right will take him off the map and into the deadly Sea of Monsters, where a secret fate awaits the son of Poseidon.”

According to Town & Country Magazine, Riordan has indicated that Season 2 will consist of eight episodes, the same number as Season 1.

Walter Scobell, 15, has been cast as Percy Jackson, in keeping with Riordan’s desire to stick closely to the books. Scobell, who gained recognition in 2022’s The Adam Project, was around 13 when he was cast to play the 12-year-old Percy Jackson.

Many actors from Season 1 will be returning, including:

Walter Scobell as Percy Jackson

Leah Sava Jeffries as Annabeth Chase

Aryan Simhadri as Grover Underwood

Charlie Bushnell as Luke Castellan

Dior Goodjohn as Clarisse La Rue

Disney has also revealed some new casting decisions. Daniel Diemer, known for the Netflix movie The Half of It (2020), will join as Percy’s Cyclops half-brother Tyson. Timothy Simons, who portrayed Jonah Ryan on HBO’s Veep, is cast as Tantalus, the cruel interim director at Camp Half-Blood.

The Gray Sisters – three fate-telling taxi drivers encountered by Percy and Annabeth – have also been cast. Sandra Bernhard will play Anger, Kristen Schaal will play Tempest, and Margaret Cho will play Wasp.

Season 1 had three directors: James Bobin, Anders Engström, and Jet Wilkinson. However, Rick Riordan, who authored the original Percy Jackson books, remains at the helm as co-creator, writer, and executive producer. After previously denouncing the early 2010s film adaptations as a “mess,” Riordan was initially hesitant about adapting the series again. “After the movie experience, I basically wrote off Hollywood for a long, long time,” Riordan told Variety in a 2023 interview. “I really didn’t want to have anything to do with the film industry. There were many years of me saying, ‘I don’t want to engage. I don’t want to think about other adaptations. I’m done.’ But when it started to become clear that something was going to happen with me or without me [for the Disney+ series], I had a long talk with Becky, my wife. We said, ‘Well, if something’s going to happen, it’s probably best to give it one more shot.’”

The full trailer for Season 2 has yet to be released. During the annual D23 event, Disney premiered a minute-long teaser trailer, which can be viewed online.

Percy Jackson and the Olympians Season 2 will debut on Disney+ sometime in 2025, likely available only to Disney+ subscribers. In December 2023 and January 2024, the first episode of Season 1 was available on Hulu for a short promotional period, but it’s unclear if the same will be true for Season 2.

If the new season follows the same format as Season 1, fans can expect a two-part premiere followed by weekly episode releases.

Source: Disney, Variety, Town & Country Magazine