Percy Jackson author reveals what he REALLY thinks of the movie versions

Most readers can agree that, on the whole, book-to-screen adaptations have a long history of not living up to the original source material. There are exceptions, of course, and lately more books have been adapted to TV, like Game of Thrones and The Witcher. Things are looking up…but that doesn’t erase the many disappointments of the past.

Luckily, some of those authors are getting second chances to have their works brought to life. Last month, Rick Riordan announced that Percy Jackson and the Olympians would be turned into a series for Disney+, granting Percy and his friends at Camp Half-Blood the amount of time needed to accurately tell their stories.

20th Century Fox made a couple of Percy Jackson movies in the early 2000s, neither of which was well-received by fans. Now, even Riordan himself has expressed his frustration with the original adaptations, likening them to watching his “life’s work go through a meat grinder.”

The conversation started when a fan pointed out on Twitter that Disney+ censored the casino scene in Percy Jackson and the Olympians, leading Riordan to jokingly question why they didn’t just censor the entire thing.

Fans were glad to see that the author disliked these movies just as much as they did. “Well, to you guys, it’s a couple hours entertainment. To me, it’s my life’s work going through a meat grinder when I pleaded with them not to do it.”

The funny thing is, Riordan admitted in a later Tweet that he actually hasn’t seen the movies, but he’s read enough of the scripts to see how much the film altered his story.

The author wasn’t all criticism, though. He also offered fans hope by saying “We’re gonna fix it soon…” suggesting they can count on the Disney+ series to better handle the books they know and love. Whether the writers and showrunners will need to censor parts of the story, however, remains to be seen … but let’s hope not.

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