‘Percy Jackson’ Stars Test Their ‘Lightning Thief’ Knowledge (VIDEO)

Kelli Boyle December 14, 2023, 9:00 am

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Rick Riordan‘s Percy Jackson and the Olympians book series is the kind of franchise that fans know like the back of their hands. The stars of the highly anticipated Disney+ series, Walker Scobell, Leah Sava Jeffries, and Aryan Simhadri, are fans of the books as well — Scobell, who plays Percy Jackson himself, says he’s read the books at least seven times. Ahead of the series premiere on December 20, we put their knowledge of The Lightning Thief to the test.

Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Lightning Thief is the first of five books in Riordan’s original collection (there have been two spinoff novel series since — The Heroes of Olympus and its sequel, The Trials of Apollo). Season 1 of the fantastical Disney+ original series covers the plot of The Lightning Thief, which tells the story of the titular 12-year-old modern demigod who’s just coming to terms with his newfound divine powers when the sky god Zeus (the late Lance Reddick) accuses him of stealing his master lightning bolt.

Percy, Annabeth (the demigod daughter of Athena, played by Jeffries), and Grover (Percy’s best friend/satyr protector, played by Simhadri) embark on an action-packed quest across the United States to recover Zeus’ lightning bolt and stop an all-out war among the Gods of Olympus. Along the way, they face numerous obstacles and mythological creators who are determined to stop them. With the odds stacked against them, the three must learn to trust one another and form an unbreakable friendship to brave these adventures and save the world together. This quest will lead Percy closer to the answers he seeks: how to fit into a world where he feels out of place, and find out who he’s destined to be.

As of September 20, 2023, Riordan’s original series has spent 690 weeks on the NY Times bestseller chart and has sold more than 100 million copies worldwide. Given that the author was a middle school teacher before the books took off, what better task for this ridiculously charming stars of the TV adaptation than a pop quiz on Season 1’s source material? See Scobell, Jeffries, and Simhadri test their mettle in the video above with questions about The Lightning Thief, from deep cut book details to the 2010 movie adaptation and even the Broadway musical.

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Percy Jackson and the Olympians premieres with two episodes on Wednesday, December 20 on Disney+, followed by one episode weekly. The season consists of eight episodes. Scobell, Jeffries, and Simhadri are joined by Charlie Bushnell as Luke Castellan, Dior Goodjohn as Clarisse La Rue, Toby Stephens as Poseidon, Jay Duplass as Hades, Glynn Turman as Chiron, Jason Mantzoukas as Dionysus, Virginia Kull as Sally Jackson, Lin-Manuel Miranda as Hermes, Megan Mullally as Alecto, Jessica Parker Kennedy as Medusa, Timothy Omundson as Hephaestus and more exciting adult guest stars.

Riordan was deeply involved in the show’s creation, serving as a co-creator, executive producer, and writer. He executive produces the series with co-showrunners Jon Steinberg and Dan Shotz. The first two episodes were written by Riordan and Steinberg and were directed by James Bobin. Riordan’s wife, Becky Riordan, also executive produces, along with The Gotham Group’s Ellen Goldsmith-Vein, Bert Salke, The Gotham Group’s Jeremy Bell and D.J. Goldberg, Bobin, Jim Rowe, Monica Owusu-Breen, Anders Engström, and Jet Wilkinson.

Stay tuned to TV Insider throughout Season 1’s release for premiere previews (including more videos with the stars and Riordan), episodic coverage, and more.

Percy Jackson and the Olympians, Series Premiere, Wednesday, December 20, Disney+