“It's hard”: Percy Jackson and the Olympians star Walker Scobell opens up about the show making changes from the book

Walker Scobell, who stars as Percy Jackson in Disney+'s series Percy Jackson and the Olympians, has shared his feelings about the differences between the original novels and the new version. Although many fans believe that the television series is much more faithful than the prior movies made in 2010 and 2013, there are still things within the series that don't match up with what happened in the novels. Scobell is one of those fans who has been a fan of Percy Jackson for a long time, so when he first started reading the novels in third grade, he became attached to the story of Percy Jackson and the Olympians.

As Scobell stated in an interview with Backstage, coming to terms with the changes to the story is something that has been extremely difficult for him, as he has been a fan of the series since he was a young child. He has been a fan of this series for 10 years now, and Scobell feels a deep connection to the original story by Riordan.

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While Scobell understands that a television show cannot be written in the same way as the books due to the pacing and the way television tells stories through actors and film, he does find it hard.

"It's hard for me to let it go, because it's been engraved in my head since I read it in third grade," said Scobell.

Scobell on accepting the changes in the Disney+ series Percy Jackson and the Olympians

In the discussion with Backstage, Scobell elaborated upon his method for coping with these changes. He expressed that whatever variations exist between Percy Jackson and The Olympians and the books have no bearing on how he approaches his performance of the character. In addition, he acknowledged that there are many components that need to be excluded or modified because there is not enough time to portray all aspects of the books exactly as they are written. He said:

"I know that some things have to be cut; things change, and I think there's not a lot I can do as an actor."

Because of this, Scobell said he chooses to "embrace whatever they’ve changed." He explained that if he held onto the old version too tightly, it might get in the way of his performance. Instead, he focuses on giving his best effort every day on set. He joked that:

"I kind of just fully embrace whatever they've changed because joke's on me if I don't go all out and try to do my best every day."

This shows that he tries to stay positive even when the story does not completely match the version he grew up with.

In Season 1 of Percy Jackson and the Olympians, one of the more obvious instances is that the show added more scenes of Percy with his father, Poseidon, played by Toby Stephens, than were present in the book. From this perspective, fans have been able to see the development of Percy and Poseidon's relationship through these added scenes.

Percy Jackson and the Olympians Season 2 continues in this fashion of adding to the show. For instance, Clarisse's role in the show has also been enhanced, as shown by how it now contains more depth. Clarisse was a strong character to begin with, according to the books, but has been added to the show by showing different sides to her.

How does Percy Jackson and the Olympians Season 2 combine storylines from the books?

The largest difference we see between Percy Jackson and the Olympians books and the series is that the events concerning Percy's encounter with Circe and the encounter he has with the Sirens in the book are combined in episode 5 of season 2, as opposed to appearing as separate events.

This combination of the two events means that both Percy and Annabeth must deal with their fears and the things that make them weak. This episode features many fast-paced narrative changes throughout and is a condensed version of this portion of their quest. The combined threat from Circe and the Sirens also serves to provide Circe with an extended role compared to her role in the book. The additional emotional moments created by these narrative changes offer a fresh perspective on the familiar Percy Jackson story.

Many viewers may find those changes surprising at first, but for those who only know Percy Jackson and the Olympians from the television adaptation, the story flows well and is easy to follow.

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