This week the highly-anticipated Percy Jackson and the Olympians series premiered on streaming and the first two episodes are finally gracing fans of the Rick Riordan series with the adaptation they’ve been looking for. When CinemaBlend spoke to the lead of Percy Jackson’s cast, Walker Scobell, about his experience shooting on the Camp Half Blood set, the young actor shared with us why the setting was so special to be part of.
As fans of the best-selling book series know very well, Camp Half Blood is perhaps the most iconic location of Percy Jackson and the Olympians. It’s the title’s version of Hogwarts. Here’s what Walker Scobell had to say about stepping onto Camp Half Blood during our interview:
Well the set was amazing first of all, but I think it's just the fact that all of the background and everyone wearing those orange shirts were just so happy to be there. It was just like, it's kind of exuded Camp Half Blood energy and everyone was so happy. It was really cool to see all these like Percy Jackson fans get to be there with us and enjoy that with us.
As Walker Scobell shared, many of the background actors were fans of the series themselves, so stepping on the set full of fans of the book series who were excited to be there really elevated the time in the location. Scobell also pointed something else out. In his words:
I haven't even mentioned that yet. My brother and sister got cameos in the show. They got to be in Camp Half Blood. They're like a dining pavilion where I'm talking to Andrew and Charlie right before Capture the Flag.
Scobell was literally surrounded by his family on set, as his siblings each actually got a cameo in one of the first episodes of the series. The Camp Half Blood scenes were shot last summer in Vancouver, British Columbia. Walker Scobell is a 14-year-old actor who had only been in two movies prior to Percy Jackson, with his first being handpicked by Ryan Reynolds and the casting department of The Adam Project, which remains one of the most-watched Netflix original movies.
The series also employed the use of an array of LEO walls called “The Volume” that Disney+’s The Mandalorian has used as well. Reportedly, Percy Jackson’s episodes cost around the same amount as the Star Wars series. 20th Television’s president Karey Burke previously shared that the studio “wanted to spare no expense” in the production of the series.
As audiences tune in each Wednesday throughout the rest of December and January with a Disney+ subscription and/or Hulu subscription, they can look forward to a host of other iconic locations from The Lightning Thief including The Underworld, Mount Olympus, and the Lotus Hotel and Casino. Fans can also anticipate Lin-Manuel Miranda as Hermes and hopefully more seasons adapting the other five Percy Jackson books.
The third episode of Percy Jackson and the Olympians heads to streaming on Wednesday, December 27. Look out for more exclusive coverage from our interviews here on CinemaBlend.
