The film adaptations of the Percy Jackson books written by Rick Riordan have several modifications; see some of them!
Between 2005 and 2010, the author Rick Riordan published the literary series “Percy Jackson”, which had 5 titles and was a huge success, being one of the best-selling sagas in bookstores. As a result of its great popularity, the plot ended up being adapted to new formats, gaining its most recent version for the screen with the series “Percy Jackson & the Olympians”, which will have the first episodes available on Disney+ on December 20th of this year.
But, before the series, the plot that emerged on the pages reached the big screen in two films starring Logan Lerman. Entitled “Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief” and “Percy Jackson and the Sea of Monsters”, the feature films followed the opposite path to the written plot, as they did not please fans of the books. Riordan.
The main reason for dissatisfaction was the distance from the original plot, as the films present changes in the characters’ personalities, include mythological concepts in a confusing way and also show several changes in the development of events that surround Percy’s trajectory.
If you don’t remember the changes made, don’t worry, RECREIO has put together 5 details of the books that were completely changed in the films below so you can remember. Check out!
1. Percy’s age
In the first book of the saga, Percy Jackson is described as a 12-year-old boy. However, when appearing in the first film adaptation, the character appears older, as he is already 16 years old.
The change is due, therefore, when Lerman was cast to give life to the demigod, he was 17 years old and at the end of the saga in theaters, he was already celebrating his 21st birthday. Therefore, if the change were not made, it would be very evident that the actor is not a boy just starting his adolescence.
Still, the change that seems silly becomes a problem, since in the books, readers follow Percy’s growth in its entirety, as he discovers more about himself and the world in general in the saga that accompanies him until he reaches adulthood. .
2. Grover and Annabeth’s personality
Annabeth is the daughter of Athena, and like her mother, she is an excellent battle strategist in the books. However, this characteristic ends up not appearing in a big way in the films, as Percy occupies all the prominent places in the conflicts that arise.
In addition to this, Grover also has evident changes in his personal characteristics, since in the book he is empathetic, has a strong bond with nature and is somewhat insecure, while in the feature film he has a more expansive personality.
3. The lack of Ares
In the book, the God of War, Ares has an important role at the beginning of the saga, as he is the one who presents Percy with a backpack that held Zeus’ thunderbolt and makes Percy have a hard time with Hades, who accuses him of stealing the lightning and also his Helm of Darkness. As a result, Percy realizes he has been tricked and fights Ares, returning to Camp Half-Blood not just a victor, but a hero.
In the film, Ares doesn’t even appear, meaning there isn’t a big twist when it’s revealed that Luke is the real thief and master manipulator, since from the beginning, he becomes the main suspect.
4. Percy’s origin
On the pages, Percy only discovers that he is the son of Poseidon when he goes through the process (known as vindication) where a deity confirms who his demigod son is, sending a symbol of his power, as explained by the Screenrant portal.
In the feature film, he discovers his origin in the first few minutes, as upon arriving at Camp Half-Blood, the leaders tell him who Percy is and he is immediately seen as a divine and heroic being.
5. Percy’s struggle to control his powers
In an interview with Entertainment Weekly, Riordan He said that he created Percy Jackson so that his son would feel represented, since the character, like the author’s heir, has dyslexia and ADHD.
He [filho de Riodan] he was struggling with dyslexia and ADHD, having a terrible experience at school, but if there was one thing he loved it was Greek mythology,” recalled the author. “As a teacher, I knew a lot about Greek mythology. I loved teaching that. So I started telling him stories from Greek myths, and when those stories were finished, I created a new Greek hero: a modern-day boy named Percy Jackson who, like my son, has ADHD and dyslexia and discovers that these may be indicators that you is a demigod. My son had no problem believing that.”
Even though in the books these characteristics are presented in the character, they are soon lost, in addition to that Percy becomes exemplary in swordsmanship and water manipulation quite quickly, unlike on the pages, where he fights against his difficulties to achieve his goals, serving as a great representation and example.
Source: Recreio
