The YA fans are going through it this weekend. But they may be siding with the author on this one: Rick Riordan, the author of the Percy Jackson series, took to social media on Monday to slam the movies adapted from his books.
The conversation arose when a fan tweeted him asking if a scene in 2010’s Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Lightning Thief had been censored for streaming. “They should censor the entire thing,” Riordan replied. “Just two hours of blank screen.” (A sequel, Percy Jackson: Sea of Monsters, was released in 2013.)
“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. So yeah. But it’s fine. All fine. We’re gonna fix it soon…” he explained, alluding to an in-the-works Disney+ series.
It’s worth pointing out that Riordan has not seen the movies — “and don’t plan on ever doing so” — but says he doesn’t need to to know they’re not his Percy Jackson. “I judge them from having read the scripts, because I care most about the story,” he tweeted. “I certainly have nothing against the very talented actors. Not their fault. I’m just sorry they got dragged into that mess.”
For what it’s worth, Logan Lerman, who starred as the titular demigod, doesn’t seem to take offense. “Excited to see this!” he tweeted Riordan upon hearing news of the Disney+ series. “Hope it gets the adaptation the books deserve.”
ET recently spoke with Lerman about whether he’d be interested in a Percy Jackson do-over by being involved with the series in some capacity.
“I’m curious if there’ll be a role that would be interesting for me. I’d definitely consider it,” he said. “It sounds cool. I mean, I love those stories. There are things about the feature adaptation that were unfaithful, and I’m happy for the fans that they get the opportunity to have a more faithful adaptation with Rick [Riordan] at the helm, getting to control the creative. I think that the fans will be really happy with that.”
