When an entity like Disney makes the decision to lower our expectations, it usually comes in the form of the entertainment giant getting a fair share of egg on its face. Indeed, whether it’s another rocky entry in the MCU’s Multiverse Saga, woeful marketing for films like Strange World or Wish, or full-sending the dystopian trajectory of our society by removing exclusive content from their library, we expect less and less from Disney with every passing day.
But sometimes, lowered expectations are exactly the reason that some announcements can pack more of a punch than they have any right to, and that’s exactly what the latest reveal on Disney Plus‘ upcoming Percy Jackson and the Olympians series has done.
Indeed, originally pegged for an early 2024 release date, the Walker Scobell-led adaptation of Rick Riordan’s beloved fantasy book series will be gracing our Disney Plus queues a bit earlier than that, with the show’s latest promo confirming a release date of Dec. 20 of this year.
Starring Scobell as the eponymous son of Poseidon, Percy Jackson and the Olympians follows Percy and his friends Grover, a satyr, and Annabeth, the demigod daughter of Athena, as they embark on a treacherous journey to rescue his mother from the clutches of Hades and clear his name of the theft of Zeus’ thunderbolt.
Also starring are Leah Sava Jeffries and Aryan Simhadri as Annabeth and Grover, respectively, as well as Virginia Kull, Jason Mantzoukas, Lin-Manuel Miranda, Lance Reddick (in his final television appearance), and Adam Copeland, who looks to capture the exact sort of bruised swagger you would want from the man playing Ares.
Percy Jackson and the Olympians drops onto Disney Plus on Dec. 20 and will consist of eight episodes.