So Big It Needs A Map: Rick Riordan Uses Flowcharts To Navigate Percy Jackson’s Universe
Even Rick Riordan once got lost in his own mythic maze. As Percy Jackson swelled story by story into a sprawling universe, keeping the canon straight became a challenge—until he found a way to keep every god, demigod, and prophecy in line.
Rick Riordan built a universe that refuses to stop expanding, and now that Disney+ has a hit series pushing deeper into the lore, he just explained how he keeps the canon straight. Also: the show is quietly fixing some of the messier movie choices. If you care about Percy Jackson, this season is worth a look — and yes, I dropped the release schedule below so you can keep up.
How Riordan tracks a universe this big
In a 2024 chat with Paste, Riordan said that back when he was first mapping out Percy and the gods and the quests, he literally flow-charted the whole thing. These days, the mythology is basically hardwired into his brain, but he still leans on his editor and the copy editors to catch continuity slip-ups across the earlier books and the new material.
"In the old days, I did actually have flow charts! I don't do that anymore, but when I was starting, yes, I did use a flow chart program because I am a very visual thinker, and it did help. Now, it's just so ingrained in me."
Movies vs. series: what the show fixes
The early 2010s films drew decent crowds but rubbed a lot of book fans the wrong way for drifting off-course. The Disney+ series Percy Jackson and the Olympians has been a course correction from the start, and Season 2 — adapting the Sea of Monsters book — doubles down on that.
Case in point: the Princess Andromeda. The movie Percy Jackson: Sea of Monsters scaled Luke's ship down to a forgettable little yacht. The series actually gives us a full-on cruise liner as Luke's floating headquarters while he rallies an army for the Titan Kronos. It looks like the thing it is supposed to be, and the scale matters.
Luke himself also plays as the kind of antagonist the story needs — clever, dangerous, and a real problem for Percy, Annabeth, and Tyson. And Kronos? The show teases him with far more menace than the films ever managed, which, frankly, did the Titan no favors.
Then and now: who is playing who
Back in the movie era, Logan Lerman led the cast as Percy, alongside Alexandra Daddario, Brandon T. Jackson, Pierce Brosnan, and Sean Bean (Game of Thrones). The series lineup is its own thing: Walker Scobell steps in as Percy Jackson, with Leah Sava Jeffries as Annabeth Chase and Aryan Simhadri as Grover Underwood. Charlie Bushnell brings a sharp edge to Luke Castellan, and Dior Goodjohn swings hard as Clarisse La Rue.
Season 2 release plan
Season 2 is rolling out on Disney+ with a two-episode premiere and weekly drops after that. Here is the schedule so you can plan your watch:
- 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
Percy Jackson and the Olympians is streaming on Disney+. Season 2 aims squarely at Sea of Monsters and, so far, sticks the landing the movies missed.