Rick Riordan & Mark Oshiro Tease ‘Court of the Dead’ and Future Seasons of ‘Percy Jackson & The Olympians’

Fans rejoiced when they got to see more of Nico and Will’s story in series spin-off, The Sun and The Star. Percy Jackson author Rick Riordan and co-author Mark Oshiro originally planned for that tale to be a one-book-wonder.

However, with multiple creative ideas swirling between them, they changed plans with their newly-released sequel, The Court of the Dead. 

TooFab sat down with both Riordan and Oshiro to get all the details on this highly anticipated novel, as they offered up some fresh teases about the Percy Jackson universe.

Before Nico di Angelo could get to where he is in The Court of the Dead, he had to go through years of living and growing at Camp Half-Blood. Disney+’s Percy Jackson and The Olympian series falls years behind the recent books, and the production is now just meeting Nico and his sister, Biaca – who will be played by Levi Chrisopulos and Olive Abercrombie in Season 3.  

Riordan told TooFab all about Season Three’s newest additions, explaining, “We saw a lot of audition tapes, a lot of audition tapes, as we do with all the characters.”

“And, you know, Olive and Levi were just so perfect,” he added. “And when we saw chemistry reads with them, with the other characters that are already in the series, it just kind of solidified our sense that, ‘oh, yeah, yeah, this is great.’ They capture everything I would want about the personality of the di Angelos.”

The author’s enthusiasm is especially strong as he’s “cheating because I’ve already seen, you know, the early dailies of their work on the first couple of episodes of Season Three, which sadly you all won’t get to see for a while. But I can tell you the trust that we had in them is well placed. They are amazing.”

Fans should be prepared to have their heart strings pulled, as Riordan shared that “seeing little baby Nico in his military academy uniform at that dance in the very first scene where we meet him in Titan’s Curse, just, I mean, I just wanted to cry. It was so cute and heartbreaking to see him just alone there in the bleachers”

Talking with Riordan and Oshiro, it is clear that Nico is a character very near and dear to their hearts. When asked if they could picture the son of Hades having his own spin-off show in the future, Oshiro excitedly cheered, “Yes! Hired me to write it! Yes!”

Their creative juices immediately started kicking in as they sprouted ideas: “Make it like a mystery show where they’re like buddy detectives. […] That’s actually a very good idea. I shouldn’t have said that out loud. That’s a really good idea. We’ll hold on to that.”

Season 2 of Percy Jackson drops in December 2025, with a premiere date for Season 3 TBD.

Riordan and Oshiro announced Court of the Dead in February 2025, surprising fans after claiming they had no plans for a book two. What made the authors change their minds? Thank the silliest characteristic of the Minotaur – and the fact he knits his own underwear. 

Riordan recalled their first press tour for The Sun and The Star, reminiscing how “Mark and I just riffing and doing a mic check and just, you know, sort of tossing around silly ideas. And I said something about the Minotaur and like, ‘He knits his own underwear. And where does that come from?’ And really, that was the small seed that bloomed into this huge and incredibly bizarre plant.”

One can easily tell that Riordan and Oshiro are co-authors in the way that the latter continued the story, saying, “Just an offhand joke that my brain latched onto […] It bloomed very quickly, because I think from that, I think it was maybe within two, three months, I had assembled most of a synopsis of a plot of The Court of the Dead, because the idea was so silly, but then also really compelling of let’s revisit this character who was a villain in the books. And what if they’re not a villain? And what does that mean if they’re not a villain?”

The Minotaur is not the only monster or “mythic” that The Court of the Dead revisits. From an empousa to a griffin, they all have very quirky identities because all monsters “don’t all act the same and they don’t all behave the same.”

When asked about development behind them, Riordan laughed and said, “I’m just gratified you thought there was a thought process” — as Oshiro said they are mainly based on “vibes.”

But that doesn’t mean the mythics are devoid of emotion. While The Sun and The Star focused on emotions just as loneliness, doubt and grief, unfairness is the feeling that presides over its sequel. 

Oshiro contemplatively shared about how unfair situations can impact a person – or character – and ended with the question, “How do you deal with feeling frustrated and stuck? And I think the book answers that in some very interesting, sometimes very wacky ways.”

Rick Riordan is the mastermind behind Percy Jackson and wrote all the books by himself before bringing Oshiro on for The Sun and The Star. They both used the same word to describe starting their co-authorship: Scary. 

Riordan first gave his perspective as the original author: “It was scary. It was a leap of faith. It was something I had never done before, collaborated with anyone on anything. I’m very much a solo player when it comes to writing most of the time. So I was really struck by how rewarding it was”

He also explained how he wanted his new partner to feel involved in the process, emphasizing, “It was really important to me that if I were to do this, it would feel to both of us like it was an equal partnership. It wasn’t just, you know, me saying, ‘Here, go write this for me and I’ll put my name on it.'”

Oshiro, meanwhile, also had their own original fears, agreeing with Riordan: “I’m glad you actually said it was scary because it was scary at first.” 

Keeping the transparency going, Oshirto then told Riordan during the interview, “I don’t even know if you know this, this is how you’re gonna find out. I wrote the audition papers, you know, I think it was like the first 10,000 words or so of it, in like 48 hours with no sleep. […] I was so riddled with anxiety because I both knew how huge this was to be offered it, but I also was like, ‘I want to do this right.'”

Oshiro’s passion paid off as Percy Jackson readers have accepted them with open arms, as Oshiro said they “love that everyone’s like, ‘Oh, you’re like the Percy Jackson gay uncle now.  Come on, here, we got to update you. Here’s all the memes you missed. Here’s all the stuff you missed.’ The funny part is I was like, ‘No, guys, I was here the whole time.'”

The chemistry and talent that Riordan and Oshiro have with each other is undeniable, so the question is, will they collab again for a third book?

Oshiro made a point to declare there are no promises, as TooFab and Riordan learned at the same time that they “got in trouble at a school visit this year because I lied to all of these kids’ faces and said there was no sequel while we had already finished the sequel. And then I came back and that book had been announced and these kids were so mad at me.”

“They were like, ‘You gaslit us so hard last year!’ And I was like, ‘Oh, I forgot that was gonna happen,'” added Oshiro.

In fear of being accused of being a gaslighter again, Oshiro made it very clear another book “is not happening currently on this interview,” adding, “There genuinely isn’t a plan. I promise we’re not gaslighting you.”

To see more about what Riordan and Oshiro had to say about Nico and Will – including what they believe the characters’ favorite books and authors would be – watch the videos above!

Also check out Rick Riordan and Mark Oshiro on tour as they celebrate the release of The Court of the Dead.