Modern retellings of old mythologies are consistently popular and interesting, spinning classic tales with contemporary twists. The Percy Jackson films and book series are no different — following the story of Percy Jackson, a demigod born to Poseidon and a human. After discovering his true heritage, Percy is fully and quickly enveloped in the world of gods and demigods, beings he once thought were just creatures of myth. As the drama and high-stakes lives of the gods become his business, it makes for an excellent book series and a film adaptation to boot.
Even though the last Percy Jackson film came out back in 2013, many viewers still have a few questions, most notably regarding Percy’s age. He’s a demigod, so his age isn’t really talked about after he finds out about his godly lineage. But Percy Jackson, like any other human before him, most definitely has a birthday and a canonical age.
Actor Logan Lerman plays the titular character Percy with a youthful presence, playing perfectly into the teenage allure of the character. But even though his youth seems almost timeless, Percy Jackson does have a canon birthday. According to the books, Percy was born on August 18th, 1993 to mother Sally Jackson and father Poseidon, the Greek god of the seas. He then starts his journey in the first book at the ripe age of 12 in the year 2005.
Though Percy’s story takes place across five books, there’s no clear indication of how much time passes. One thing is clear though — between the first few books, Percy does age as he spends time at Camp Half-Blood and goes on a cross-country journey that is bound to take some time. While the beauty of fiction is that it leaves a lot to the imagination, those who’ve only seen the films may still be unclear on how old Percy Jackson actually is since he appears to have been aged up for the movies.
Though there is no clear answer in the films, the author of the books, Rick Riordan, has confirmed that Percy Jackson is still 17. Percy Jackson is a main character in Riordan’s other book series, Heroes of Olympus, and he is the Head Counsellor at Poseidon’s Camp. Riordan says that only a year passes during Heroes of Olympus, meaning that Percy stays 17 until the end of that series, which takes place after the story of the Percy Jackson films. This means, for viewers of the film adaptations, Percy Jackson is 16 by the end of the story that they know.
The good thing for Percy is that he’s not only fictional but a demigod as well. It would be entirely believable if he didn’t age, considering his ageless father. And while his age doesn’t necessarily play a huge part in his role in the story, some fans just like to know every little detail about characters that intrigue them.
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