'Percy Jackson' reboot bids to repeat Harry Potter success: Disney solved the $95 million budget that ruined the first film

It seems that the reason for the failure of the first film about Percy Jackson has been found and Disney gives hope that the new adaptation in the format of a TV series will not repeat this biggest mistake.

Here's What We Know

Rick Riordan's fantasy book series Percy Jackson & the Olympians is about a young hero who encounters a secret world of gods and monsters, discovering that his father is the Greek god Poseidon. The story, with its vivid fantasy world and young protagonist, is reminiscent of Harry Potter and perfect for a film adaptation, but previous adaptations have left much to be desired.

The first attempt at a film adaptation in 2010 led to negative reviews of "Percy Jackson & The Olympians: The Lightning Thief", despite the fact that the film had quite good box office receipts. The picture was criticised by fans, as well as Riordan himself for simplifying the picturesque fantasy world described in the book to a mundane blockbuster.

The limited budget of the original Percy Jackson film did not allow it to fully capture the essence of the story and clearly did not contribute to its success. For example, a budget of $95 million seemed large enough, but for a film as massive as "Percy Jackson & The Olympians: The Lightning Thief," which was supposed to launch a new fantasy franchise, it wasn't enough. By comparison, "Harry Potter and the Philosopher`s Stone," which came out almost a decade earlier, had a budget of $120 million.

Much of the small budget was allocated to pay for a star-studded cast such as Uma Thurman, Pierce Brosnan and Rosario Dawson. This left less money for special effects, forcing the film to severely cut back on the visual effects referenced in the piece, and even leading to a major reworking of key moments from the first book.

But the allotted budget for Disney's upcoming "Percy Jackson & the Olympians" series will reportedly solve this problem, despite the fact that it's not much bigger. The stated budget of $12-15 million per episode isn't much more than the $95 million of the film, but it will be much more effectively used, thanks to the division of the story into episodes.

What's more, the lack of stars in the main cast of "Percy Jackson & the Olympians" is a hopeful sign that the money will be put towards realising the ambitious visuals of the series.

When We Can Expect It

It will be possible to assess whether "Percy Jackson & the Olympians" reaches the level of "Harry Potter" from 20 December 2023. The series will have eight episodes.

Source: ScreenRant