Met Gala meets Camp Half-Blood? The Mary Sue spoke to the cast of the Disney+ series Percy Jackson and the Olympians at their NYC premiere, which was held at the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
The show is based on Rick Riordan’s best-selling book series, and Riordan and his wife both serve as executive producers on the series. Other creative talent involved in bringing the world to life in a new adaptation includes showrunners Dan Shotz (Black Sails) and creator Jonathan E. Steinberg (also Black Sails), as well as director James Bobin (co-creator of Flight of the Conchords), executive producer Monica Owusu-Breen (co-creator of Midnight, Texas) and many other talented writers and producers, many of whom were at the premiere.
The Percy Jackson series is about a young demigod named Percy (Walker Scobell) and his two good friends and companions, Grover Underwood (Aryan Simhadri) and Annabeth Chase (Leah Sava Jeffries), who join him on a dangerous quest.
In honor of the gorgeous venue, we asked the cast what their characters would do if they had the run of the Metropolitan Museum for one night—in the spirit of From The Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler, or if you were to sprint across Central Park to the museum with the dinosaurs, A Night at the Museum.
You might notice that none of the Percy Jackson and the Olympians cast, young or old, thought their characters would want to learn anything if left to their own devices in the museum. Their plans for the hallowed halls of the Met were more destructive and mischievous. Take that, history nerds! These characters are scrappy, and they’re not messing around. Here’s what they had to say.
Walker Scobell
Who he plays: Percy Jackson, the protagonist who learns that his absent father is a Greek God, he has Olympian powers, and he may/may not have been framed for a crime in the span of, like, 48 hours.
“I mean, personally I would bring my skateboard. I would probably skate. There’s a lot of like skateable [surfaces] in museums, I think.”
Azriel Dalman
Who he plays: Young Percy, who’s still learning about the Greek myths and legends that will shape his future from his mother.
“Something weird, probably, like swim in the water or knock down statues.”
Timothy Omundson
Who he plays: Hephaestus, the blacksmith of the Gods who forges all types of gadgets, in addition to weapons, in the Percy Jackson series.
“There’s gotta be an armor room. So he’d pull out some of the swords and have some fun. And then he’d get kicked out and arrested.”
Olivea Morton
Who she plays: Nancy Bobofit, a bully at Percy’s school who unintentionally becomes the first victim of his new Half-Blood powers.
“I think she would probably spray mail all over the place, for sure, and maybe break a couple of things, [or] maybe steal a couple of things for her own collection at home.”
Dior Goodjohn
Who she plays: Clarisse La Rue, another girl bully–this time at Camp Half-Blood. She is a daughter of Ares and (therefore, obviously) a fierce fighter.
“She would take all the armor out of the cases, write her name on it, and take it back home.”
Timm Sharp
Who he plays: Gabe Ugliano, Percy’s jerk of a stepfather. In my opinion, he’s a little more abusive in the books, and the 2010 film, than in the Disney+ series. Gabe and Sally, Percy’s mom, have an antagonistic back-and-forth that wouldn’t be fun at a dinner party but isn’t exactly a cause for concern.
“I think he would get his Camaro in here and he would just do donuts around some sarcophaguses … sarcophagi?”
(Note: It is, in fact, “sarcophagi.” We got there eventually!)
The atmosphere at the premiere event was appropriately chaotic and enthusiastic.
The cast, crew, and other guests then gathered to screen the first two episodes of the series. (Both are now available to stream.) Everyone was excited to see the series brought to life in this new imagining. When asked what they were most excited for fans to see, also on the red carpet, the members of the cast shouted out different scenes and elements of the series. Some were proud of their own work, and others were more interested to see how the visual effects came together.
“Just for people to see it,” said Omundson, “and realize what care Dan [Shotz] and Rick [Riordan] and John [E. Steinberg] took in bringing this, this version of it to the screen.” Young Percy himself, Dalman, also mentioned the detail and the love that was put into the series. “And probably, like, the extra scenes that weren’t in the books,” he said. So true! One of the best things about adapting a novel as a series rather than a movie is the freedom to add rather than just subtract.
Others are excited for more specific scenes. Morton, of course, is excited for her big fountain scene/moment. “I’m most excited for people to see Camp Half-Blood,” gushed Goodjohn, “and the Cloven Council! Oh, my God. The Cloven Council looks so good!”
Sharp, who hadn’t seen any of the episodes ahead of that night’s screening, could only speak for himself. “The minotaur,” he said, “because that’s what I’m excited to see.” We must hope that his character, Gabe, would be less excited to see a minotaur, especially given what goes down between the minotaur and Sally.
At the screening, every single character introduction received a burst of applause from the audience. The vibe was divine! And there are still so many more exciting characters and cast members to come! Not to spoil too much, but you won’t be introduced to mythological characters like Ares (Adam Copeland), Hermes (Lin-Manuel Miranda), Poseidon (Toby Stephen), Hades (Jay Duplass), Medusa (Jessica Parker Kennedy), and Zeus (the late Lance Reddick) until later on in the series.
Teasing out these characters and this massive world hidden underneath and behind our own bodes well, in my humble opinion. It means that the show is confident that it will be able to last for seasons and seasons. May it can adapt what the 2010s films never got to adapt. And hey, maybe if we’re lucky, the OG Percy, Logan Lerman, can make some kind of brilliant cameo.
You can watch Percy Jackson and the Olympians on Hulu and Disney+.
(featured image: Shane Anthony Sinclair/Getty Images)
