Percy Jackson and the Olympians

Core story is classic Greek myth adventure about friendship, belonging, and quests. "Feeling out of place" as demigod is personal and tied to powers like ADHD. Not reframed as current identity politics or systemic issues.

Flawed gods and absent parents appear as plot drivers. No modern activist framing of patriarchy, capitalism, or Western institutions. Ancient myth setting with standard hero rebellion against authority.

Annabeth's race and appearance changed from explicit book descriptions. Creator framed the choice publicly around inclusion and representation rather than story necessity. Grover ethnicity also shifted. Other adaptation tweaks are story pacing or modernization, not identity-driven.

Significant social media and some coverage complained about race-swapped casting for Annabeth as DEI or woke agenda. Backlash predated release and continued, with some linking later viewership drops to the changes. Complaints focus on identity priorities over book fidelity.

Rick Riordan has built a pattern of adding diverse and queer characters across his later books and publicly champions representation. He explicitly defended the show's casting on inclusion grounds. Other key creatives like Steinberg and many directors have low profiles; some writers bring higher identity focus from prior work.