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Adaptations in film and literature have always been around, but they are now becoming increasingly popular. Some of the most popular films amongst teenagers and young adults are based on books. “Harry Potter,” “The Hunger Games,” “The Maze Runner,” “Divergent” and “Twilight,” to name a few. Even newly released Netflix rom-coms like “To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before” and “The Kissing Booth” are based on books.  

“Percy Jackson” is a popular book series by author Rick Riordan that was first released in 2005. The books were released consecutivley, with the last book written in 2009. The first movie, “Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Lightning Thief,” was released in 2010, and in 2013, “Percy Jackson and the Sea of Monsters” was released. Following that release, the franchise was silent for ten years.  

On August 18, 2023, Disney announced the series “Percy Jackson and the Olympians,” fans raved about the upcoming series, due to the let-down brought by the movies. According to IMDb, the first movie has a rating of 5.9 out of 10 and the second movie has a rating of 5.7 out of 10. The series has a slightly higher rating: 7.2 out of 10. 

Damond Fudge is a local film reviewer from the Des Moines area who has also worked in television since 1997. He worked at WHO 13 for eight years before moving on to KCCI. Fudge makes it his goal to see one new movie per week and shares some insight on why he thinks adaptations are becoming more and more popular.  

“I think when it comes to adaptations, like ‘Percy Jackson’ and things that are based on book series, you are going into the whole IP thing, where studios are looking for something that is going to be a cash cow, that hopefully this is going be good enough that we can bankroll another and another and another so that the money will roll in from all of that,” Fudge said. “That is one of those things that superhero movies are getting criticized for, that they are just cash grabs instead of being the fun entertainment that they were.”  

Brayden Nessa is a freshman at Iowa State University studying Agricultural Science. Nessa is also a lifelong film and book connoisseur.  

“[The “Percy Jackson” books] are a great, solid read. The movie is also a great representation of the first book and maybe a little of the second. The series is not particularly great. It pretty much is just a copied string out version of the movie with younger characters, so [I’m] not a big fan of the series,” Nessa said.  

There is speculation as to why the entertainment industry has chosen to remake adaptations time and time again. Some believe the industry has simply run out of ideas and others think that the industry is just giving fans what they want: their favorite characters in as many variations as they can get. Whether it is from a book to a film or series, or vice versa, stories will always be retold. 

Fans have differing opinions of adapted books, movies and series. Adaptations have taken the entertainment industry by storm and they will not be stopping anytime soon. The possibilities within adaptations are endless and the entertainment industry will use every opportunity to bring new life to old stories.