Note: This article contains spoilers for episode 5 of season 2 of Percy Jackson and the Olympians.
The star of Disney+ Percy Jackson and the Olympians, Walker Scobell, talked about how he really feels about the show changes as compared to the books.
Scobell has liked Percy Jackson for almost nine years; he started reading the books in third grade. In an interview with Backstage, the actor, who is nearly 17 years old, said that it’s not always easy to accept changes from the books.
“It’s hard for me to let it go, because it’s been engraved in my head since I read it in third grade,” Scobell said.
He has good reason to be hesitant. Nine years is a long time to become very attached to one version of a story.
Even though he has a personal connection, Scobell knows that changes mean making some sacrifices. “I know that some things have to be cut; things change, and I think there’s not a lot I can do as an actor,” he stated.
Scobell has decided not to fight, but to fully support the show’s goals. “I kind of just fully embrace whatever they’ve changed because joke’s on me if I don’t go all out and try to do my best every day,” he said.
He will always be loyal to the show, even when changes make him question his love for the books he reads.
Most fans agree that Percy Jackson and the Olympians is much more true to the books than the Logan Lerman movies from 2010 and 2013. However, the Disney+ show still has some big and some small changes from Riordan’s books. Novels and TV shows are two very different ways of telling stories, with varying needs for pacing, character growth, and story flow.
For example, Season 1 added more scenes with Poseidon, Percy’s father, played by Toby Stephens, and gave Luke, Camp Half-Blood traitor, more meaning. Season 2 also has some interesting changes, like giving Clarisse (Dior Goodjohn) a bigger part than she does in the books.
It can be hard for long-time readers and fans like Scobell to get used to these changes, even if they make sense in the setting of the show. Scobell said in his Backstage interview that it can be hard to “let it go.”
One big difference from the books can be seen in season 2, episode 5, “We Check In to C.C.’s Spa & Resort.” Percy and Annabeth (Leah Sava Jeffries) fight the famous witch Circe (Rosemarie DeWitt) and the scary Sirens in this episode.
Circe and the Sirens are two different dangerous situations in the first Percy Jackson book, “Percy Jackson and the Sea of Monsters.” Because of how the show weaves them together, Percy and Annabeth have to face their fatal flaws and rely on each other more than ever. Putting the two threats together meant that this part of their goal could be covered in one episode, which was a smart choice for the pace. It also made Circe a more complicated bad guy, like how the show changed Medusa’s story in season 1.
These kinds of changes to the story and the characters keep versions like Percy Jackson and the Olympians fresh and fun for both longtime readers and people who are just now learning about the story. Scobell said it well: sometimes all you need to do is learn to accept something new, even if you’ve loved the old one for a long time.
Being honest about how hard it was to deal with changes while still staying true to the show’s vision shows what it’s like to be both a die-hard fan and the face of a remake. Even though it’s hard, Scobell seems eager to get it right.
