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Both of the live-action Percy Jackson movies were held back by their use of the series’ main antagonist Kronos, though for opposite reasons.
Rick Riordan’s Percy Jackson & The Olympians series follows a group of young demigods navigating a world in which the gods and monsters of Greek mythology are very real. The books have proven to be a huge success with readers, so it only makes sense that they would eventually be adapted into a movie series. Unfortunately, audiences were mostly disappointed by the films, with the general consensus being that they failed to capture a lot of what made the books special. One of the biggest areas where the films fell short is their depiction of the series’ main antagonist, the Titan Kronos.
In the first book, Kronos convinces Percy’s friend Luke Castellan to steal Zeus’ Master Bolt and turn against his friends at Camp Half-Blood. He then plays the long game and continues to manipulate Luke into serving him until he rises from a sarcophagus in the fourth book, taking over Luke’s body to serve as his host. The fifth and final book features Kronos leading his forces in a battle to take down Mount Olympus, only for Luke to regain control of his body and sacrifice himself to defeat the Titan once and for all. Throughout the books, Kronos is depicted as a ruthless and patient chessmaster who controls all of the monsters and villains that antagonize Percy Jackson and his friends.
On the other hand, the films utilized Kronos in a very strange and sporadic manner. The Titan only receives a brief mention as part of a history lesson in the first installment, The Lightning Thief. Luke Castellan seemingly turns evil of his own accord, which removes much of the nuance of his character. One of the central conflicts of the books was that Luke was a noble but vulnerable person who was exploited by Kronos, but the first film disregards this and instead has him motivated by a desire to take the gods’ power and use it to remold the world as he sees fit.
While the first film suffers from a lack of Kronos, the second installment ironically suffers from the opposite problem. Near the beginning of Sea of Monsters, Percy receives a prophecy that educates him on Kronos’ fall from power long ago, as well as the fact that he is fated to return to the world. Percy and his friends end up on Luke’s yacht, where they battle his forces and discover the sarcophagus that contains Kronos’ remains. Luke gives them a fairly rushed explanation of his goals and they eventually manage to escape, but this is only the beginning of Sea of Monsters‘ Kronos problem.
At the climax of the film, Luke uses the Golden Fleece to resurrect Kronos at an abandoned amusement park. Instead of taking over Luke’s body, Kronos takes the form of a giant burning monster and begins to wreak havoc on the park, absorbing several people into himself. Following an over-the-top and bombastic action scene, Kronos is defeated by Percy and returned to the sarcophagus.
Kronos’ inclusion in the second film was a clear attempt to placate fans who were upset when The Lightning Thief left him out. Unfortunately, his action scene at the climax feels incredibly strange and unearned, especially considering that he returned to life in the same film he was introduced. The intense and heartbreaking drama between Luke and his friends from the books is gone, replaced by a giant CGI monster stomping around and eating people.
It seems that the Percy Jackson films struggled to balance the threat of Kronos, with the first film not involving him in its events at all while the second one used him far too excessively. Luckily, series author Rick Riordan has confirmed that he will be heavily involved in the creation of the upcoming Percy Jackson Disney + series, so hopefully the lord of the Titans will receive a less messy adaptation soon.
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