Disney Officially Finds Its Next Fantasy Series To Compete With Harry Potter & Percy Jackson

Image courtesy of MovieStillsDb Published Sep 9, 2026, 4:01 PM EDT Cathal Gunning has been writing about movies, television, culture, and politics online and in print since 2017. He worked as a Senior Editor in Adbusters Media Foundation from 2018-2019 and wrote for WhatCulture in early 2020. He has been a Senior Features Writer for ScreenRant since 2020. Sign in to your ScreenRant account The news that Disney is officially set to expand Percy Jackson’s fictional universe proves that the entertainment giant does have a credible competitor for 2026’s Harry Potter reboot series. When Game of Thrones debuted in 2011, few viewers could have guessed just how much the HBO hit would reshape the small-screen fantasy genre in the 15 years that followed its premiere. HBO’s adaptation of author George RR. Martin’s A Song of Ice & Fire saga proved that mature, R-rated fantasy shows could spell big business for cable networks and streaming services, and gave rise to everything from Netflix’s The Witcher and Arcane to Prime Video’s Critical Role shows The Legend of Vox Machina and The Mighty Nein. Thus, although HBO’s upcoming Harry Potter reboot might not seem like a guaranteed hit, the cable network’s history in the genre shouldn’t be ignored. Compared to competitors like Apple TV’s upcoming Stormlight Archive adaptation or Prime Video’s Lord of the Rings prequel The Rings of Power, HBO’s Harry Potter reboot has a few things going for it. The show is a new release, whereas The Rings of Power has already released two seasons, and the Harry Potter franchise already has a set of famous movies to its name, unlike Brandon Sanderson’s Stormlight Archive books. That said, Disney’s upcoming Percy Jackson spinoff The Kane Chronicles has already addressed both of these issues. Image via MovieStillsDB Originally set to be developed as a feature film by Netflix, The Kane Chronicles is now going forward at Disney+ with show runner Angela Robinson working alongside Percy Jackson series author Rick Riordan on the series. Riordan’s Kane Chronicles trilogy is set in the same fictional “Riordanverse” as the Percy Jackson books and their Disney+ TV adaptation Percy Jackson and the Olympians. The book series consists of three novels, The Red Pyramid, The Throne of Fire, and The Serpent’s Shadow. While plenty of shows have promised to be the next Game of Thrones, HBO should be much more worried about The Kane Chronicles emerging as an alternative to their upcoming Harry Potter reboot. Percy Jackson and the Olympians earned almost 30 million views in its first month on Disney+ and its second season went on to break numerous viewership records upon release in 2025, meaning the franchise's brand has plenty of name recognition thanks to this existing hit. Disney's New Fantasy Franchise Can Compete With HBO's Harry Potter Of course, The Kane Chronicles will still be telling a fresh, original story that viewers haven’t seen before, which could be a harder sell than HBO’s new take on the familiar novel Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone. That said, the fact that the upcoming show is linked to Percy Jackson and the Olympians means The Kane Chronicles gets the best of both worlds, as the spinoff will be both an entirely original story and an extension of an existing hit. From the underrated Vampire Diaries spinoff Legacies to Netflix’s smash-hit spinoff of The Addams Family, Wednesday, there is a long history of YA fantasy adaptations on the small screen. However, while the exact budget of HBO’s Harry Potter reboot has not yet been released, it is clear that the series will be one of the most expensive TV shows ever produced, and will need to be a colossal hit to justify this investment. Thus, the existence of The Kane Chronicles could rock the show’s plans, especially when Percy Jackson and the Olympians is already a big budget production on par with The Mandalorian. With budgets in the millions of dollars for every episode, Percy Jackson and the Olympians is clearly Disney’s flagship Harry Potter replacement, so its expansion with the arrival of The Kane Chronicles marks a worrying change for HBO’s highly hyped reboot. Release Date 2026 - 2026 Showrunner Francisca Gardiner Directors Mark Mylod Cast Dominic McLaughlin Harry Potter Janet McTeer Minerva McGonagall