Percy Jackson (film series)

Percy Jackson & the Olympians (also known as Percy Jackson) is an American feature film series based on the novel series of the same name by the author Rick Riordan. The series is distributed by 20th Century Fox, produced by 1492 Pictures and currently consists of two installments. The first film, Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Lightning Thief (2010), was directed by Chris Columbus, and was released on February 12, 2010. The second installment, Percy Jackson: Sea of Monsters (2013) was originally intended to be released in March 2013 but was instead pushed back to August 7, 2013, and was directed by Thor Freudenthal. The series has grossed nearly $430 million at the worldwide box office.

The films follow the adventures of demigod Percy Jackson and his comrades at the demigod training ground of Camp Half-Blood. In the first film, Percy must go on a quest to save his mother from the underworld and prove his innocence when he is accused of stealing lightning from Zeus. The second film revolves around Percy’s escapade as he must retrieve the legendary golden fleece from the sea of monsters, or the Bermuda triangle, which is the only thing that will save the camp from the forces of darkness.

Production

The Lightning Thief

In June 2004, 20th, Century Fox acquired the film rights to the book. In April 2007, director Chris Columbus was hired to lead at the helm of the project. Filming began in April 2009 in Vancouver while other portions of the film were shot at the Parthenon in Nashville, Tennessee; A full-scale replica of the original Parthenon in Athens. Filming wrapped up on the morning of July 25, 2009 in Vancouver, British Columbia. Digital intermediate work began in San Francisco in November 2009. Christopher Beck composed the soundtrack. Chris Columbus has stated that each member of the cast were chosen specifically with sequels in mind. "I think with Percy Jackson it was a matter of finding the right cast to fit into these roles, sort of the perfect cast for these roles, because hopefully, God willing, we will go on to do other Percy Jackson films and you want the cast to grow with their characters." All the lead actors had signed for three films during the shooting.

Sea of Monsters

It was revealed on the 749th issue of an online subscription magazine Production Weekly that the film was in production. Another source said that the lead cast members from the first movie were expected to return for their roles. Chris Columbus did not return as director, though he produced the movie together with Karen Rosenfelt, producer of the The Twilight Saga film series. Scott Alexander and Larry Karaszewski were hired as the scriptwriters. On June 16, 2011, it was announced that Thor Freudenthal would be directing the film with production beginning on April 12, 2012. On October 12, 2011, it was announced that the film would be released on March 26, 2013, but on May 31, 2012, it was announced that the movie had been pushed back to August 16, 2013. On April 6, it was announced that the movie was pushed up to August 7, 2013. On January 13, 2012, a brand new production list was released and stated that the movie will film between April 26, 2012 - July 11, 2012 with scenes being filmed in Vancouver, B.C. and New Orleans, Louisiana. Filming wrapped up in July 2012, but then started again in January 2013 for reshoots. Filming was officially wrapped up on January 20, 2013.

Films

Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Lightning Thief (2010)

In June 2004, 20th Century Fox acquired feature film rights to the book.^[1] In April 2007, director Chris Columbus was hired to helm the project.^[2] Filming began in April 2009 in Vancouver.^[3] The film was released on February 12, 2010 and was met with mixed reviews upon release and was a commercial success and grossed almost $227 million at the worldwide box office against a budget of $95 million. The plot revolves around a sixteen-year-old Percy Jackson who discovers that he is the son of Poseidon, Greek God of the sea, and goes to Camp Half-Blood, a training camp for demigods, the half mortal children of Greek gods. When Percy's mom is kidnapped by Hades, and Percy is accused of stealing Zeus' lightning bolt, Percy and his friends go on a quest to rescue his mom from the underworld, leading them across America to find Persephone's pearls, while proving that Percy is not the lightning thief and is innocent.

Percy Jackson: Sea of Monsters (2013)

In October 2011, 20th Century Fox announced a sequel based on the second book, The Sea of Monsters. The film was released on August 7, 2013. Percy Jackson, son of Greek god Poseidon, discovers he has a half-brother, Tyson, and embarks on a journey with his friends to retrieve the Golden Fleece to save a magical tree containing the spirit of Zeus's daughter Thalia who died at the gates of Camp Half-Blood while saving Annabeth, Luke and Grover. This tree protects their training ground, Camp Half-Blood. They must travel to the Sea of Monsters to save it, and find the challenges that may await them. The film grossed just over $199 million at the worldwide box office.

Percy Jackson: Titan's Curse

This movie is not officially planned; however, in March 2014, Logan Lerman stated a "Percy Jackson 3" was still possible.^[4]

Crew

Criticism

Rick Riordan, the author of the book series has mentioned in numerous interviews that he has never seen the movies to keep them from influencing the way he views the characters.^[5] During March 2016, Riordan wrote a letter asking teachers not to show the movie to students during class time.^[6]

Reception

Box office performance

Critical and public response

References