1 Clever Decision Could Make 14-Year-Old Walker Scobell Disney’s Biggest Asset After Marvel and Star Wars
Walker Scobell, a 14-year-old American actor first shot to fame by playing Ryan Reynolds’ younger version in The Adam Project. The actor was able to match Reynolds’ energy and comic timing with such ease that he instantly became an actor to look out for. It came as no surprise when the latest Percy Jackson and the Olympians makers chose Scobell to portray the titular teen hero.
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Disney’s Strategy for Percy Jackson and the Olympians
Even though Disney launched the streaming platform in 2019, it has caught up with other major players in the market and garnered a significant subscriber base. With mammoth titles from Marvel to Star Wars on top of the original Disney and Pixar movies hosted on the platform, it’s not surprising that a lot of people keep coming back to the platform.
The next big title on Disney is set to be the latest TV series from the Greek mythology world of Percy Jackson. Titled Percy Jackson and the Olympians, the series features Walker Scobell as the modern demigod who has to come to terms with his real identity while the past catches up to him. Based on the books by Rick Riordan, the movies did very well in theatres and the show appears to be no exception.
Disney put its tremendous trust in the series by altering its release time from Wednesday midnight PST/3:00 a.m. EST to Tuesday nights at 6:00 p.m. PST/9:00 p.m. EST. This cunning move keeps Disney on top of other subscription services since it matches the usual TV timings and lets users tune in to watch the show as they previously did with cable TV shows. On the other hand, Percy Jackson and the Olympians is the first non-franchise nascent show to premiere on a prime-time spot.
Other than Percy Jackson and the Olympians, Disney+ adopted this strategy for top-ranking shows like Ahsoka and Loki as well. These shows did not disappoint Disney and got positive ratings across the chart. Moreover, the Percy Jackson show is attempting to stay as close to the written material as possible to not disappoint fans in any way. After seeing what happened with The Witcher and other shows that deviated away from the source content, Disney is playing it safe when it comes to the storylines shown in the series.
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Will Walker Scobell’s Percy Jackson Become a Franchise?
Percy Jackson and the Olympians holds great potential for turning into a franchise with more seasons and even similar to the decade-spanning world of Harry Potter. Playing such an iconic character must be a tough yet delightful job for the young actor. Similar to how people associate Harry Potter with Daniel Radcliffe, Walker Scobell may become the face of the next billion-dollar franchise.
With a memorable collection of figurines and having read the source books over seven times, Scobell is a die-hard fan of the initial mediums, which translates into his exceptional performance on screen. Riordan has even gone on to say that Scobell’s sense of humour is even better than that of Percy. “That makes him more Percy than my Percy. He’s perfect, in that regard,” he said.
Given the initial buzz and positive reviews that the show has garnered, it is plausible that Disney will make this show a part of something bigger that outshines everything in Scobell’s filmography. The episodes of season 1 are dropping weekly as fans wait for every chapter with bated breath. Percy Jackson and the Olympians is streaming on Disney+ and Hulu.
