Disney Transformed NYC’s Met Museum Into a Percy Jackson Playground

Its latest series, Percy Jackson and the Olympians, premiered among ancient Greek artifacts at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Here, the entertainment behemoth gives BizBash an inside look at the invite-only affair.

Shannon Thaler

January 8, 2024

One of the biggest challenges was working around the museum’s regular operating hours, Nelson said, noting that while the step-and-repeat in the Temple of Dendur space could be brought in at 9 a.m. the day of the event, Dec. 13, most of the load-in took place with just three hours to spare before the event began at 6 p.m., which included “draping, sound package, and screen” that were used for a screening.Photo: Courtesy of DisneyNEW YORK—For a storyline about outrunning monsters and outwitting Greek gods during a journey across America, it was only fitting that Disney celebrated the Dec. 13 debut of Percy Jackson and the Olympians TV series with a premiere at New York’s iconic Metropolitan Museum of Art.

Specifically, the 700-plus guests in attendance—including series stars Walker Scobell (Percy Jackson), Leah Sava Jeffries (Annabeth Chase), and Aryan Simhadri (Grover Underwood)—honored the fictional demigod’s journey in the museum’s Ancient Greek gallery.

“Just like Rick Riordan’s bestselling books, Percy Jackson and the Olympians is filled with references to and characters from Greek mythology—from Zeus and Poseidon to Medusa and Athena,” Katherine Nelson, head of communications and publicity at Disney Branded Television, told BizBash.

“Having the premiere event among ancient Greek artifacts created an awe-inspiring guest experience and made perfect sense as an homage to the epic Greek myths featured throughout the series,” Nelson added.

That guest experience was impressively pulled off in just one month of planning in collaboration with production company 20th Television and the West Hollywood-based event profs at NVE Experience Agency—a team Nelson said immersed guests in the world of Percy Jackson. Every touchpoint of the invite-only affair was thoughtfully curated to nod to an element of the eight-episode part-action, part-romance, part-drama series. Keep scrolling for a closer look at each masterful detail…

As soon as guests entered the Met’s Great Hall, they were immersed in the world of Percy Jackson’s Camp Half-Blood—the training camp in the novel-turned-TV series where demigod children receive protection and training to hone their unique skills—"via orange-hued lighting, props and projections, and a harpist," Nelson explained.

Photo: Courtesy of Disney

The Met was an obvious venue choice for the event, as it served as a key setting in the series. “In the first episode, Percy and Grover’s class takes a field trip to the museum, where Percy gazes upon a statue of the Greek hero Perseus, and later displays his powers for the first time at one of the museum fountains,” Nelson told BizBash. It also “made perfect sense as an homage to the epic Greek myths featured throughout the series."

Photo: Courtesy of Disney

Throughout the main event space, guests were invited to dance to a set from DJ Vikas, take a lightning bolt-clad photo, get their picture drawn by a caricature artist who turned attendees into the Greek god of their choosing, or munch on a Greek-inspired passed hors d'oeuvre.

Photo: Courtesy of Disney

In the venue’s Grace Rainey Rogers Auditorium, a live string quartet featuring “members of the New York City Chamber Orchestra played epic series-inspired music as guests entered, culminating in a rendition of ‘Riptide’ from the show,” Nelson explained. And as guests were ushered to their seats to watch the first two episodes of the new series—which is now available to stream on Disney+ and Hulu—Toby Stephens, the voice behind Poseidon, “recorded a custom ‘voice of god’ greeting for our guests.”

Photo: Courtesy of Disney

One of the biggest challenges was working around the museum’s regular operating hours, Nelson said, noting that while the step-and-repeat in the Temple of Dendur space could be brought in at 9 a.m. the day of the event, Dec. 13, most of the load-in took place with just three hours to spare before the event began at 6 p.m., which included “draping, sound package, and screen” that were used for a screening.

Photo: Courtesy of Disney

Cloud Catering curated the F&B for the night, which consisted of cocktails and light bites inspired by the attributes of the gods and demigods, Nelson explained. For example, the food station for Poseidon—known as the god of the sea—featured sushi, while decadent dessert bites paid homage to the goddess Athena.

Photo: Courtesy of Disney

At a sprawling bar that served as the eye-catching centerpiece of the Met’s Great Hall, mixed drinks on offer boasted playful, Percy Jackson-inspired names, including the Tsunami, a blend of mezcal, thyme-flavored simple syrup, and blue curacao; and the Demigod Errand, which featured vodka, pomegranate juice, and ginger beer. Mocktails on offer—which included a blackberry lemonade dubbed The Nectar—were served with a glowing, branded ice cube, Nelson said.

Photo: Courtesy of Disney

A blue carpet was used in place of a red one in the Met’s Temple of Dendur, a fun nod to Percy Jackson’s powers over water. In the original Rick Riordan novels, the author states that the teenage boy can lift upward of 10,000 gallons of water—and can change its state to solid to construct weapons on demand. “The existing pool of water created a stunning glimmering effect” against the step-and-repeat, which “featured a lightning bolt across the back with… the hero key art [and] metallic 3D backlit logos,” Nelson said.

Photo: Courtesy of Disney

Of course, the series’ leading actors stopped on the blue carpet for a photo op. Pictured left to right: Leah Sava Jeffries, who plays Annabeth Chase; Walker Scobell, known on-screen as Percy Jackson; and Aryan Simhadri, who assumes the role of Percy’s good friend Grover Underwood.

Photo: Courtesy of Disney