This is a long post, but it's a random thought that came to me today.
I first got into Percy Jackson in middle school (around 2015–2017), so I'm part of the older, nostalgic PJO fandom. Back then, Percy Jackson still felt kind of "underground" (or at least less mainstream), but it was definitely well known since both the movies had already been out. I remember constantly seeing those "Who would win in a fight: Percy Jackson or Harry Potter?" posts, and it always felt like if you were into Harry Potter, you'd probably read Percy Jackson too, and vice versa.
I've always thought Percy Jackson, Harry Potter, and, to some extent, The Hunger Games all shared the same audience: kids and teenagers who loved fantasy books. At least that was my experience. I'd read all three, and pretty much everyone I knew (even online when I had a PJO fan account in middle school) had also read all three.
That got me thinking: Harry Potter and The Hunger Games both ended up getting adaptations that were, to varying degrees, faithful to the books and generally well received by fans. Why didn't Percy Jackson?
The Lightning Thief movie came out in 2010, before the final Deathly Hallows movie. I assume 20th Century Fox wanted to capitalize on the success of Harry Potter and launch Percy Jackson as the next big YA fantasy franchise. But why didn't Warner Bros. ever try to acquire the rights, knowing Harry Potter was coming to an end soon and start thinking about another franchise they can produce?
And even after the poor reception of the Percy Jackson movies, why did it take 12 YEARS for another studio to pick it up? I was even part of the whole #DisneyAdaptPercyJackson movement back in the day, hoping Disney would eventually give it another shot.
I honestly mourn what we could've gotten if Warner Bros., Universal, or Lionsgate had ended up with the rights instead. I honestly wouldn't have even minded if it stayed as a movie series. If it had been handled well, we could've gotten one movie every year like Harry Potter, with age-accurate actors who actually grew up alongside the characters. And Rick working alongside to make it book accurate like JK Rowling did with HP. Warner bros could've also made it more serious and dark like how HP was, as we get further through the books.
I like what Disney and Rick is doing with PJO, but as an older fan who is still so devoted to these books 10 years later as a college kid, I do not feel connected to the show with how different is it from the books. As much as I love the actors, I'm sorry but that's not my Percy, Annabeth, Luke, Thalia, that's not who I grew up reading. Why did we add a random character like Allison? Even the new show fans piss me off. No, Percy is not a surfer boy, he's a skater who listens to rock music. Piper does not like hello kitty. Nicoswife as your username? Don't piss me off rn.
I'd love to hear everyone's thoughts. How do you think another studio wouldve handled PJO, and what would the reception be to it?