Amph Percy Jackson & the Olympians/The Heroes of Olympus books and films

I remember Jello and I went to go see the first Percy Jackson movie back in 2011. I didn't know it was a book series. I remember enjoying it, despite being ridiculous (and incredibly incorrect, as Jay pointed out).

Now they're finally moving on to the second movie, and I'm stoked.

For those who haven't read it, the Percy Jackson & the Olympians series and it's continuation series The Heroes of Olympus are incredibly fun books. They're aimed at teens and read very much like the first few Harry Potter books, so you can breeze through them quickly. However, they're great reads full of great characters and a very fun perspective on ancient Greek and Roman mythology.

Some synopsis from Wiki:

One of the major themes through all of the books really is just friendship, honor, duty, and learning your own strengths and weaknesses. The Heroes of Olympus books also have probably one of the most racially diverse ensemble of characters I've seen in literature, which is awesome. While all of the Percy Jackson books are from Percy's POV, the Heroes of Olympus books are from all of the characters, which is great because you get to know and love the whole crew.

A super interesting thing that the Heroes of Olympus book tackles is the dichotomy between the Greek and Roman aspect of the Gods, which is actually a major part of the books.


The 3rd book in the Heroes of Olympus book, The Mark of Athena, just came out and I think it took me less than a few days to devour that book. It ended on a cliffhanger and the new one isn't coming out until next year.


Production is already underway for the 2nd film, Percy Jackson & the Sea of Monsters. It's going to be a bit odd, since the first film strayed a bit from the book and didn't follow the whole plot, but I imagine it's still going to be fun, even though 21-26 year old actors are playing the supposed 12-13 year olds.

However, they've got Stanley Tucci playing super bitter sober Dionysus, which will be amazing, and Nathan Fillion as Hermes, which totally doesn't fit the character description but it's Nathan Fillion. It's probably going to be just a silly, but I'm still looking forward to it.

 

Dudes getting kind of old no?

 

Which one?

 

Just finished the latest two books in the series - The Demigod Diaries and The Mark of Athena - anyone else reading them?

Like the OP, I am actually rather looking forward to the films, since it looks like they're going to stick more closely to the book (character lists), and they got rid of Chris Columbus (directed like it was...I dunno, Home Alone...oh, wait...)

 

Not bothered with the books, but I really enjoyed the movie. Way more than expected. And I now live near the Parthenon, so I've got that going for me.

 

Logan Lerman

 

The Annabeth chick is older than him, and they're both supposed to be like 13. . Granted, the first film started them at like 16/17 rather than 12.

And Anthony Stuart Head is taking over as Chiron. I couldn't take Pierce Brosnan seriously; okay, I really don't think I can take anyone seriously in that role.

 

I read the first series. I haven't moved on to the Heroes series because it was torture waiting on the others from the library. I'll just enjoy them all at once in a couple years.

The movie was okay. It wasn't as good as the first, obviously, but it was still enjoyable. Any word on release dates for the sequel?

 

Sometime next year.

 

I'm really confused as to what the studio's doing right now. The trailer's up on some websites, but they're US-locked, none are in HD, and there's no good ones on youtube.

But we have a trailer! And some Nathan Fillion awesomeness!



Edit:

Found a HD version:

http://hollywoodlife.com/2013/04/01/percy-jackson-sea-of-monsters-trailer-video/

 

I thought the original was ok. Didn't it underperform though?

 

It did, which is why I was pleasantly shocked that they're continuing.

 

Thanks for finding that! I'm excited. I really enjoy this series (have read all the books). It is just plain fun. The preview makes it seem like perhaps they're going to stay with the books a bit more than the last time (which I think was their problem and why it underperformed.)

 

I am surprised that they're continuing to make these--especially since it's been four years since the last release. I am very much looking forward to this, though.

 

Well at least they'll get the "oh hey, Nathan Fillion is in this?" crowd.

 

Movie opens in just a few weeks. I'm still waiting on real reviews, but the people I've talked to that have seen it said it's actually pretty good. So, we'll see.

Though I possibly might be getting into an advanced screening next week. Fingers crossed!

 

How exciting if you do! I can't wait for this movie to come out. They have to start doing this series justice. If they had done it right the first time it should've been filling the void Harry Potter fans are feeling.

 

The trailer looks pretty fun. I bet I would've loved these books as a kid. I was really into myths.

 

I cannot express enough how much I enjoy these books. It has to be, next to Harry Potter, the best book series Ive ever read. But you gotta cut me some slack. Im 17 and was right in the middle of the target age range of the books. I know most of what I know about mythology thanks to this series though Im still steamed on how bad the first movie was butchered.

 

I'll cut you enough slack to say that while I love the Percy Jackson books, there are way better book series out there.

 

Hey understandable. Im a blind teenager who has closed minded opinions

 

Movie comes out this week. I'm kinda bummed about the lack of attention--I didn't know the date until this week. Has anyone been seeing trailers, discussions, etc.?

 

Ya, for the past few months

 

Saw the movie. Like the last one, they pick and chose what to actually take from the book and what to completely make up.

But hey, at least Annabeth was blonde!

Rainbow (who wasn't named Rainbow but whatever) was freaking beautiful. I want an action figure of him.

The prophecy was addressed... and kinda altered.

I will say that my favorite part was Stanley Tucci as Mr. D. He was amazing.

Overall, ehh. On par with the first film. Fun, but don't go in expecting canon or expecting something that's going to win lots of oscars.