The Percy Jackson Disney Plus show has been greenlit for a third season — which means it’s reached the important milestone of adapting the books past the ill-received 20th Century Fox movie adaptions. The third season of the show will follow the events of the third book in Rick Riordan’s original Percy Jackson series, The Titan’s Curse.
But most notably, book three introduces one of the series’ most popular and most groundbreaking characters: Nico di Angelo, son of Hades.
[Ed. note: This post contains some spoilers for the Percy Jackson books]
Fans have been looking out for mentions of Nico di Angelo since the first season of the Disney Plus show. Nico and his sister Bianca first appeared in The Titan’s Curse, where Percy and his friends are tasked to escort two mysterious siblings to Camp Half-Blood. Eventually Nico and Bianca learn that they are children of Hades, which grants them super-powerful death-associated abilities.
Even after the original series wrapped up, Nico stayed on as a major player in the subsequent books (across the Heroes of Olympus and Trials of Apollo series). He also has his own spinoff series, penned by both Riordan and author Mark Oshiro. The second book is set to arrive later this year. (Bianca, meanwhile… well, she doesn’t really appear after the third book).
With a tragic backstory and perfect edgy goth looks, Nico has been a fan favorite since the very beginning. And he’s also notable for being the first openly queer character in the Riordanverse. He officially came out in 2013’s House of Hades. And 13 years ago, it wasn’t as common for gay characters to appear in young adult literature as it is today. The TV show is already way more diverse than the original books were, but characters like Nico had paved the way for more diversified children’s media. It’ll be a full circle moment to see him on screen for the fans who grew up reading his stories.
“We’re so grateful to be continuing the story of Percy Jackson on Disney+. This third season will be new territory for the screen, bringing fan favorites like the Hunters of Artemis and Nico di Angelo to life for the first time,” said Riordan.
Riordan also teased on his BlueSky that they would be looking to cast someone who resembles the infamous Disney-Hyperion official portrait of Nico from 2007. This was obviously a joke, but just in case you’re not familiar with the infamous Disney-Hyperion official portrait of Nico from 2007 — yeowch.
The second season of Percy Jackson and the Olympians is still in production and will hit Disney Plus this December. The first is available to stream on Disney Plus.
