Calling all campers! Though the school year is in full swing, Camp Half-Blood is back in session. Disney has released the teaser trailer for the new Percy Jackson and the Olympians series. Fans of the Rick Riordan books will remember or, as some choose, ignore the two less-than-ideal movies made in the early 2010s starring teen heartthrob Logan Lerman. The films’ inaccuracy led to an abrupt halt, the last three books in the series never being adapted. It seems that Riordan is ready to have another go, this time having much more input in the script than previously, and I, for one, am excited to get a glimpse of what Uncle Rick has in the works. Grab your nectar and ambrosia as we take a deep dive into the trailer.
We open on shots of the outdoors, which showcase, sequentially trees, a signpost, and a lake. I can only assume we are getting our first look at Camp Half-Blood. As we see these images, there’s a voiceover by Walker Scobell, who will be playing the titular character, Percy Jackson, saying the iconic opening line, “Look, I didn’t want to be a half-blood.” He begins his spiel about the dangers of being a demigod. The lines are incredibly similar to those in the first chapter of Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief, some even word for word. These first few seconds alone have had a monopoly over my, and I’m sure many others’ TikTok For You Page, and the fan reactions are ones of joy and excitement. It seems that Riordan is making sure the series is done right.
As Scobell continues his speech, warning potential demigods to steer clear of learning the truth about their parentage, we finally begin to see more specific shots. We get clips of a Camp Half-Blood shirt and a large group of campers in battle armor. Are they suited up for the camp’s iconic Capture the Flag? I can’t ponder on this question too long because we then get to see Percy himself walking through camp. This means we are getting a view of the camp houses! I’d assume one of the cabins belongs to one of my favorite gods, the cabin of Apollo (if the lyre mounted on the roof is any indication). Within seconds we see Percy trudge up to the blue Poseidon cabin as Scobell’s speech reaches its height. The camera zooms in on Scobell as he enters the Poseidon cabin and says, “Once you know what you are, they’ll sense it too… and they’ll come for you.” He can only be referring to the monsters Percy and his friends encounter throughout their quest. As soon as he says this, the screen goes pitch black before opening on a close-up of Percy in a thunderstorm, looking concerned. The trailer ends with this brief image as Scobell quotes, “Don’t say I didn’t warn you.”
This trailer leaves me with many questions. Where are Annabeth and Grover? What about Chiron and Mr. D? Will the infamous Lotus Hotel scene be incorporated into the movie? Who will play Percy’s godly parent, Poseidon? Fans of the books prayed to the gods themselves that it is Logan Lerman, the original Percy Jackson, a passing of the torch from one Percy to another, but it seems that it isn’t in the cards. We can only hope that the actor chosen to play the god of the sea does the role justice. The new Percy Jackson and the Olympians series is set to release in early 2024, so it seems that all answers will remain unresolved, leaving us to analyze this 71-second teaser trailer until then.