Rick Riordan’s ‘The Kane Chronicles’ Is Officially Headed to Disney+, and Netflix’s Loss Is About to Pay Off

Percy Jackson fans have had plenty to celebrate since Disney+ turned Rick Riordan’s demigod saga into one of the platform’s breakout hits, but another corner of his mythological universe has spent years stuck in development limbo. That’s finally starting to change.

Riordan’s Egyptian mythology trilogy, ‘The Kane Chronicles,’ has bounced between studios since it was first optioned, most notably landing at Netflix as a planned film series before that version of the project quietly fell apart. For a franchise built around siblings discovering they’re the descendants of ancient pharaohs, the road to the screen has been almost as winding as the mythology itself.

Now, that wait appears to be over. According to a new report, Riordan and writer-director Angela Robinson are set to create a ‘Kane Chronicles’ series adaptation at 20th Television for Disney+, with the studio having acquired the rights to the trilogy back in 2024.

The move to television rather than film marks a significant shift in how Riordan’s second major franchise will finally reach audiences. Paramount had originally purchased the film rights to adapt the trilogy for Netflix, but that deal ultimately collapsed, sending the property back into Riordan’s hands before 20th Television scooped it up for Disney’s streaming service.

Based on ‘The Red Pyramid,’ ‘The Throne of Fire,’ and ‘The Serpent’s Shadow,’ the trilogy follows siblings Carter and Sadie Kane as they discover the gods of ancient Egypt are alive and active in the modern world. The story shares a universe with Riordan’s other franchises, including ‘Percy Jackson and the Olympians,’ though it swaps Greek mythology for an Egyptian mythological backdrop centered on the siblings’ lineage from pharaohs Narmer and Ramses the Great.

Robinson brings a resume that should feel familiar to genre fans, having directed two episodes of Netflix’s ‘Wednesday’ and written for both ‘How to Get Away with Murder’ and ‘True Blood.’ It hasn’t been confirmed whether she’ll also direct the new series, though her recent work on ‘Wednesday’ makes that a reasonable expectation.

Disney+ already has a proven track record with Riordan’s work, thanks to ‘Percy Jackson and the Olympians’ becoming an instant success for the platform after its debut season adapted ‘The Lightning Thief.’ That series drew millions of views in its first week alone and has since expanded into a second season built around ‘The Sea of Monsters,’ giving Disney every incentive to keep building out Riordan’s broader mythological world.

‘The Kane Chronicles’ brings something different to that expanding universe, since it centers on Egyptian mythology and a pair of protagonists whose multiracial identity was directly inspired by real students Riordan taught during his years as a middle-school teacher. That perspective, paired with the built-in fan base the books have cultivated since their original 2010-to-2012 run, gives Disney a strong foundation to work from as the series moves through development.

Casting, a premiere date, and further creative details haven’t been revealed yet, and the project hasn’t received an official announcement from Disney or 20th Television at this stage. Still, with Riordan directly involved as a creator alongside Robinson, fans finally have real momentum behind an adaptation that once looked like it might never make it past the page.

With ‘Percy Jackson’ continuing to expand and ‘The Kane Chronicles’ now moving forward, Disney+ looks increasingly committed to becoming the definitive home for Riordan’s interconnected mythological universe.

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