Percy Jackson Needs A Reboot. Now!

Why did Hollywood have to kill Percy Jackson? They took this book series that was fresh and turned it into mediocrity. The films are trying to be Harry Potter with Greek mythology. I admit the series does have similarities to Harry Potter. The main trio in both series is filled with one boy who has to fulfill a prophecy, a smart girl, and a doofus. However, Rick Riordan told the story in a unique and funny way that made it different from Harry Potter.

The movies do not try to utilize the creativity of the series at all. Looking at the trailers the movies do not feel special. They look generic. I cannot believe how badly Hollywood messed up the basics. I understand that movies will be different from the books they are based on. Directors need to make cuts and changes. What makes a good book, does not necessarily make a good movie. They are too different forms of entertainment. Changes are expected, but I also expect that the basic concepts will be there.

Why did they not put Ares in the first movie? Why did they not hire a younger actor to play Percy so the prophecy could stay at sixteen? Why do the campers use technology? Hollywood messed up the plot to both movies so bad. I just do not get why they made these awful changes. Imagine if I made my own version of The Lord of the Rings that did not have Saruman, Legolas, Gollum, none of the major battles, and the ring gave Frodo the ability to breath fire.

I cannot express how important it is for a movie based on a book to be good. Americans are reading less and less, so they are not going to take the time to read something like Percy Jackson. They will most likely be introduced to the series through the movie. If the movie is bad and not true to the book, then the viewer will have a false conception of the original source material and judge that the books must be bad since the movie is bad. It is no wonder why the second movie did so poorly. Not only did the fans of the series did not want to see it, but people who saw and heard about the first movie lost interest as well.

I do not think there is anyone out there that wants the current movie series to continue. The Percy Jackson series needs a complete reboot like what Sony did to Spider-Man.