Disney+'s Percy Jackson and the Olympians series has found its pilot director.
That Hashtag Show was the first to report that Dora and the Lost City of Gold director James Bobin would helm the first episode. Series creator and co-writer Rick Riordan later confirmed the news on his blog. "Our pilot director will be James Bobin, who is both a terrific person and an incredibly talented director who checks all the boxes we were hoping for in a partner," he wrote. "James knows the Percy books well. His kids are fans. His humor is wonderful. We are in good hands, demigods, and lucky to have him joining our team. Keep your fingers crossed that everything goes the way we expect!"
Bobin's other directorial credits include an episode of Disney+'s The Mysterious Benedict Society, Alice Through the Looking Glass, Muppets Most Wanted, The Muppets (2011) and various episodes of Flight of the Conchords and Da Ali G Show.
The show has yet to receive the official green light from Disney, but Riordan is confident the series will be given a first-season order. He hopes to begin filming in June in Vancouver "but as always, this is my own personal estimate and should not be taken as official word from Disney or 100% certain." He also noted that the scripts for the first two episodes are done, and that work is underway on Episodes 3 and 4.
Bobin joins Riordan, co-writer and co-showrunner Jonathan E. Steinberg and co-showrunner Dan Shotz on the Camp Half-Blood team. Other writers include Daphne Olive, Monica Owusu-Breen, Joe Tracz—who wrote The Lightning Thief: The Percy Jackson Musical—and Riordan's wife, Becky Riordan.
As for casting, Riordan said that the "department started gearing up again this week, though I don't yet have any contact information on open casting to share with you yet." Earlier this year, the series started looking for its Percy Jackson, the son of Poseidon, Greek god of the sea. The crew is looking to bring on an actor who can "play 12." The plan is to have the character age up as the series progress through its five seasons—based on the five books in the series—assuming the show gets so lucky.
The series is also looking to cast main character Grover the satyr and Annabeth Chase, daughter of the Greek goddess of wisdom and warfare, Athena. Riordan said that those decisions will be based in part on who the series chooses as Percy.
Source: The DisInsider, via That Hashtag Show; Rick Riordan