Disney+ Greenlights ‘Kane Chronicles’ Live-Action Series with Rick Riordan and Angela Robinson
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Disney+ has formally greenlit a live-action series adaptation of Rick Riordan's "The Kane Chronicles," with Riordan developing the project alongside writer-producer Angela Robinson. The trilogy, set in the same mythological universe as Riordan's "Percy Jackson" and "Magnus Chase" series, follows siblings Carter and Sadie Kane as they master inherited Egyptian magic and navigate warring gods after their father unleashes the god of chaos and disappears. The move revives a property that had previously stalled as a Netflix feature film before its rights reverted to Riordan in 2024.
The series, comprising books "The Red Pyramid," "The Throne of Fire" and "The Serpent's Shadow," will be produced by 20th Television, which is also behind Riordan's "Percy Jackson and the Olympians" adaptation for Disney+. That show premiered in 2023 to nearly 30 million views within a month and returns for a third season in November, its first to adapt "The Titan's Curse." Executive producers on "The Kane Chronicles" include Riordan, Rebecca Riordan, Angela Robinson, and Ellen Goldsmith-Vein and Jeremy Bell of The Gotham Group.
- Disney+ greenlights "Kane Chronicles" live-action series, ending its Netflix film stint
- Riordan and Angela Robinson developing the Egyptian mythology trilogy adaptation
- Follows "Percy Jackson" success; season three arrives on Disney+ in November
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Disney+ has ordered a live-action television series based on Rick Riordan's "The Kane Chronicles," a trilogy of books following siblings Carter and Sadie Kane as they discover Egyptian magic and become caught up in conflicts between ancient gods. The story is part of the same fictional universe as Riordan's better-known "Percy Jackson" books, which centre on Greek mythology, and "Magnus Chase," which draws on Norse myth. Rick Riordan is developing the new series himself, working alongside writer-producer Angela Robinson.
The project had previously been in development as a film at Netflix, but the rights returned to Riordan in 2024, allowing it to move to Disney+ instead. It will be made by 20th Television, the studio also behind Disney+'s existing "Percy Jackson and the Olympians" series, which has proved popular with viewers since launching in 2023 and is preparing a third season.
This matters because it signals Disney+'s continued investment in Riordan's books as a source of family-friendly fantasy television, building on the success of the Percy Jackson adaptation to expand into further corners of his mythological universe.
Full account
Disney+ is developing a live-action television adaptation of Rick Riordan's "The Kane Chronicles", with the author teaming up once again with the studio behind his hit "Percy Jackson and the Olympians" series. Riordan will create and write the show alongside Angela Robinson, known for her work on "How to Get Away with Murder", "True Blood" and "The L Word", who is also attached to executive produce. The project is understood to still be at the development stage rather than a formal series order.
The Kane Chronicles comprises three novels — The Red Pyramid, The Throne of Fire and The Serpent's Shadow — and draws on Egyptian mythology, forming part of the same fictional universe as Riordan's Camp Half-Blood Chronicles (home to Percy Jackson) and Magnus Chase and the Gods of Asgard. The story centres on siblings Carter and Sadie Kane, magically gifted descendants of the pharaohs Narmer and Ramses the Great, who are thrust into conflict with the Egyptian gods. According to the show's official logline, the pair must learn to control their inherited magic and form uneasy alliances after their father releases the god of chaos and disappears, racing to save him before feuding deities bring devastation to the present-day world.
The property has had a winding route to the screen. A film version was previously in the works at Netflix, but Riordan revealed in 2024 that the streamer had abandoned the project after two years of unsuccessful attempts to develop a script it was happy with, leaving the option to lapse. With the rights back in his hands, the material has now landed at 20th Television, the studio already producing Disney+'s Percy Jackson adaptation. Familiar collaborators are involved: Riordan's wife and creative partner Rebecca Riordan, along with Percy Jackson executive producers Ellen Goldsmith-Vein and Jeremy Bell of the Gotham Group, are attached in the same capacity here.
The move builds on the momentum of Percy Jackson and the Olympians, which drew close to 30 million views within its first month on Disney+ following its 2023 debut and is due to return for a third season in November, adapting The Titan's Curse for the first time. Robinson brings her own track record to the new series, having written and directed the cult film D.E.B.S. and worked on shows including Hung and, more recently, Wednesday. Riordan's screen history also includes the 2010 film Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Lightning Thief and its 2013 sequel, Percy Jackson: Sea of Monsters, neither of which matched the acclaim of his more recent television ventures.
Where outlets differ
Variety frames the project more cautiously, noting Robinson would only join 'if the project is ordered', whereas Deadline describes it simply as 'currently in development' without that conditional caveat.
Deadline names all three Kane Chronicles books individually (The Red Pyramid, The Throne of Fire, The Serpent's Shadow) and gives specific Percy Jackson viewership and scheduling detail (nearly 30 million views in a month; season three and The Titan's Curse arriving in November), none of which Variety includes.
Variety includes a direct quote from Riordan explaining why Netflix's option lapsed and gives a fuller rundown of Angela Robinson's other credits (Hung, Wednesday, D.E.B.S.), details Deadline omits or mentions only briefly.
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