Disney+ is currently in the middle of releasing the second season of Percy Jackson and the Olympians. The first 4 episodes of Sea of Monsters are now available to stream with a Disney+ subscription, and the streaming giant is expected to drop new episodes weekly through the start of the 2026 TV schedule. So far, Season 2 has closely followed the events of book 2, with some minor changes. Given the movies did not make it past Sea of Monsters, there’s a lot riding on this second installment of the show. Fortunately for the fans, there’s a man on the inside who is just as invested in the TV show aligning with the books.
As the onscreen Percy Jackson, Walker Scobell has to face monsters, fight immortal beings, and survive death drops from national monuments. Ironically, The Adam Project actor’s biggest challenge has nothing to do with any of that. Instead, Scobell told @theoriesbyt on TikTok that his biggest struggle revolves around continuity with the book:
For me it’s difficult when they change things. Like anything at all, even if it’s for the better, it’s just so difficult for me to wrap my head around it.
That’s not exactly what I was expecting him to say. Maybe I thought he might talk about acting without special effects or chariot scenes where they had to film with a rough mechanical rig. But Scobell’s reasoning for this answer actually makes sense, and fills my Percy Jackson fan heart:
These books have been in my head a certain way since I was in third grade, and so it’s really hard for me to just trust the process and trust Rick, even though I know that we have an amazing team of writers, and it’s going to end up amazing.
Spoken like a true fan of the books, which he no doubt is. I think that might be what I love most about this cast, is how dedicated they are to the series and the original story penned 2 decades ago (wow I feel old). Like Scobell, I also read these books in third grade, and like Leah Jeffries who plays Annabeth, I also was busted in class for reading the YA modern mythology series under my desk.
So as a lifelong fan myself, I’m not going to lie, these comments worry me a bit. Are there major changes to come in the upcoming back half of Season 2? After the 20th Century Fox Percy Jackson movies starring Logan Lerman completely diverged from the book plot in Sea of Monsters, the movie series was cut short, alienating author Rick Riordan from Hollywood. This Disney+ adaptation is a chance at redemption and justice for the series and the fans.
Like Scobell, I just need to trust the process, even if it is difficult to do so sometimes. There have been some moments that have made me concerned about this, like how they changed the Ares quest to Waterland in Season 1. Or how they breeze through or alter some major events in the first 6 or 7 chapters of Sea of Monsters within the first 10 minutes of Season 2, including how Percy finds out Tyson is a cyclops during the gym battle with the Laistrygonian giants.
I do understand that very few book to screen adaptations are perfect and include every detail, without being agonizingly long. For the most part, Season 1 and Season 2 (so far) of this Percy Jackson TV adaptation have done a very good job, sparing no expense. Trailers for Season 2 have promised to include any and all important plot points, from the major themes like the demigods’ ADHD and dyslexia, all the way to small details like Grover’s wedding dress.
Besides, with Percy Jackson himself and Uncle Rick in our corner, I have no doubt everything will be just fine. Scobell even said he voiced any long-term continuity worries with the writers, who promised they had it all figured out. I’ve known the Looking Through Water actor has been a true fan since he suggested Logan Lerman return to play his half-brother, Triton, who appears much later in the series. So if he trusts the writers, then so do I.
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