Rick Riordan Praises the More Book-Accurate ‘Percy Jackson and the Olympians’ Season 2 Improvement [Exclusive]

Rick Riordan‘s expansive career isn’t slowing down anytime soon. Not only is Percy Jackson & the Olympians heading into Season 2 at Disney+, but Riordan has also teamed with author Mark Oshiro for the second entry in The Nico di Angelo Adventures, The Court of the Dead. During an interview with Collider’s Hannah Hunt, the author pair opened up about the themes driving their new book, the fun of co-writing, and what fans can expect when Percy Jackson returns to television this December.

Rick Riordan on Expanding ‘Percy Jackson’ in Season 2

Season 2 hopes to teach viewers how to find their North Star.

Season 2 adapts The Sea of Monsters, often called Percy’s “Odyssey,” and Riordan says the new episodes are pushing the story in richer directions. “Because it is a nautical adventure, because it draws so heavily on The Odyssey and Jason and the Argonauts, it is about sailing into the unknown,” Riordan explained. “Maybe you figured out a little bit of who you are now. Maybe you have good friends around you who are your crew, if you will. Where do you go? How do you get your bearings? Where is your North Star? How are you finding your way through difficult circumstances?”

For Riordan, that makes Season 2 more expansive:

“It really is about the journey and navigation and how you find your way through difficult circumstances. And a lot of that has to do with trusting the people around you and learning to not only be a hero, but trust that the people around you are the right people and that they know what they are doing.”

That thematic depth is matched by a narrative shift. Unlike the books, the series can step outside Percy’s POV. “We get to see what Luke is doing on his evil cruise ship, the Princess Andromeda, and the kind of conversations that he’s having with his side,” Riordan teased. “That is not something that you see or can really do when you are in a first-person narrative. So that might be surprising. And I hope it will enrich and make the story a little more three-dimensional.”

Riordan also pointed to the new flashback sequences with young Annabeth, Luke, and Thalia as highlights. “While those were in the book, I think seeing them play out on the screen, they just hit differently. They’re more impactful, they’re more fully developed. And I think that’s going to be really fun to let the fansexplore that.”

How a Minotaur Joke Became a Nico di Angelo Adventure

” I would love it if readers took that sense of curiosity and compassion away from their relationship.”

While the series’ second season charts Percy’s next quest, Oshiro and Riordan’s new book takes Nico di Angelo, Will Solace, and Hazel Levesque into uncharted territory of their own. The Court of the Dead follows the trio as they investigate a mystery at Camp Jupiter, where monsters — now called “mythics” — have sought sanctuary only to begin disappearing under ominous circumstances. Oshiro revealed the unlikely spark behind the story: “We were on tour for The Sun and the Star during a sound check for one of the events and Rick made a joke about the Minotaur knitting his own tidy whiteies. And like, why did we never figure out where he got them from? … That’s often how most of my creative projects start. There’s just something about that dichotomy.” What began as a joke evolved into a deeper exploration of judgment, choice, and breaking cycles: “Nico and Will allowed monsters, now referred to as mythics, agency and gave them a chance to make a choice. I think we were always gonna to fall into a story about what happens when you make choices. What does it mean to choose differently than you’ve chosen your entire life?”

For Riordan, speculative fiction provides the perfect lens to explore such questions. “It allows the young readers a little distance and perspective to be able to consider things but not have them feel literally in their faces and not feel as threatened by them,” he explained. “The fantasy just kind of helps to cushion what you’re experiencing, I guess.” That sense of distance also shapes Nico and Will’s evolving relationship. Oshiro said, “A lot of this book is about them realizing things like, ‘Oh, this journey doesn’t really end, it just changes.’ … Love can involve compromise, love can involve collaborating, working together. I would love it if readers took that sense of curiosity and compassion away from their relationship.”

Reflecting on the themes that carried over from The Sun and the Star, Oshiro added, “Like Rick, I also love using speculative fiction to talk about both the real world and then my real self because of exactly that feeling of there’s just enough distance that cognitively it doesn’t feel like this is happening to me. … And what a great Percy Jackson theme we’ve seen before in different contexts of like, ‘What if you just choose differently?’”

Riordan highlighted one of Oshiro’s contributions as particularly powerful: using Dionysus as a kind of mental health counselor for Nico. “That is perhaps not the first thing we might think of when we think of Dionysus, but it is so perfect for his realm and that it just made complete sense,” Riordan said. “And it really spoke to me personally about the value of therapy and the value of self-reflection and coming to terms with one’s own feelings and experiences.” For Oshiro, the bond between Nico and Will remains central, even after their survival of Tartarus. “The vibe of this book is like, ‘Well, we survived Tartarus, we can do anything.’ But the real lesson is that the journey doesn’t really end, it just changes. … Even in this very confusing situation, that gets pretty intense at one point in the book, they’re both, especially Will, still willing to ask questions and say, ‘Okay, hold on, I know we’re freaking out, but what about this?’”

Fans will get to celebrate these themes in person soon, as Riordan and Oshiro embark on a nine-city tour. Oshiro joked that it’s a bit of a “fake apology” tour: “There was a point where I once did a book festival, left my hotel where I had been drafting it, went to a festival and just lied all day. ‘There’s never going to be a second book.’ I’m excited to share the origin story and just the experience of being in a room full of Percy Jackson fans.” Riordan added: “That’s the main thing for me too — just the excitement and being able to be with people who like books and like reading and want to celebrate that. That’s a beautiful thing. I think we need more of that.”

The Court of the Dead will be released on September 23, 2025. Percy Jackson and the Olympians Season 2 will premiere on Disney+ on December 10, 2025.

Release Date

December 19, 2023

Network

Disney+

Showrunner

Jonathan E. Steinberg, Dan Shotz

Directors

Anders Engström

Writers

Joe Tracz, Andrew Miller

Franchise(s)

Percy Jackson & The Olympians

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  Walker Scobell

  Percy Jackson

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  Leah Sava Jeffries

  Annabeth Chase