Rick Riordan Isn’t Backing Down — Percy Jackson’s Trans Icon Is Here to Stay
Move over, Percy Jackson—Rick Riordan just spotlighted the series’ true scene-stealer on The Newest Olympian podcast: Blackjack, the loyal, wisecracking pegasus who’s more partner than mount.
If you have spent any time with Percy Jackson, you know the real scene-stealer is not always Percy. It is Blackjack, the winged horse who shows up, cracks wise (in horse), and saves the day more than once. This week, Rick Riordan weighed in on a fan-favorite debate about Blackjack’s identity that started with a blink-and-you-miss-it pronoun switch in the early books.
So... is Blackjack trans?
Riordan dropped by The Newest Olympian podcast and got asked about a detail book readers have been side-eyeing for years: in book two, The Sea of Monsters, Blackjack is introduced with she/her pronouns and called a mare. In book three, The Titan’s Curse, the Pegasus is referred to as he/him. Fans took that shift and ran with it, dubbing Blackjack a trans icon and asking if Riordan planned to treat the character that way going forward.
'I love trans icon Blackjack. I think that is fantastic. I fully support that.'
Riordan also explained how the switch happened in the first place. Short version: it was a continuity hiccup. When he first wrote the character, he did not realize Blackjack would stick around or become as important as he did, and he forgot he had called the horse a mare. Riordan did not pin down an in-story 'identity moment' for Blackjack, saying they are largely going with how the character is presented for most of the series, but he made it clear he is completely on board with fans embracing the trans icon read.
What that actually means for the story
Not much changes plot-wise. Blackjack has always been the same ride-or-die Pegasus who ferries Percy into trouble and back out of it. Readers embraced him from his first appearance, and the pronoun change turned into one of those deep-cut continuity details that fans reinterpreted into something meaningful rather than a mistake that breaks the world.
If you are trying to place Blackjack in the larger pop-culture horse universe, think Pegasus in Clash of the Titans (the Sam Worthington reboot, with Liam Neeson and Ralph Fiennes) — a trusty aerial Uber and a loyal friend. The Disney+ Percy Jackson and the Olympians series sticks to that vibe: faithful sidekick energy first, discourse optional.
Percy Jackson and the Olympians season 2 release plan
On the TV side, here is how the next run is scheduled. The plan has season 2 premiering with two episodes on December 10, 2025, then rolling out weekly into early 2026:
- Season 2 episode 1 - I Play Dodgeball with Cannibals — December 10, 2025
- Season 2 episode 2 - Demon Pigeons Attack — December 10, 2025
- Season 2 episode 3 - We Board the Princess Andromeda — December 17, 2025
- Season 2 episode 4 - Clarisse Blows Up Everything — December 24, 2025
- Season 2 episode 5 - We Check In to CC's Spa & Resort — December 31, 2025
- Season 2 episode 6 - Nobody Gets the Fleece — January 7, 2026
- Season 2 episode 7 - I Go Down with the Ship — January 14, 2026
- Season 2 episode 8 - The Fleece Works Its Magic Too Well — January 21, 2026
Walker Scobell, Leah Sava Jeffries, and Aryan Simhadri are back as Percy, Annabeth, and Grover, with Charlie Bushnell returning as Luke and Dior Goodjohn as Clarisse. Percy Jackson and the Olympians streams on Disney+.