Disney+ developing The Kane Chronicles : what to expect
Rick Riordan keeps delivering. After the remarkable reception of Percy Jackson and the Olympians on Disney+, which already secured a third season coming later this year, 20th Television has officially begun developing a live-action adaptation of The Kane Chronicles for the platform. The announcement landed on September 3, 2026, and for anyone who tracks what's worth watching on streaming, this project deserves attention from day one.
Egyptian mythology enters the Disney+ universe
The Kane Chronicles is a trilogy written by Rick Riordan, consisting of three novels published between 2010 and 2012 : The Red Pyramid, The Throne of Fire, and The Serpent's Shadow. The story follows two estranged siblings, Carter and Sadie Kane, who discover they carry inherited Egyptian magic. When their father accidentally unleashes the god of chaos and disappears, the two must join forces, form unexpected alliances, and race to save him before ancient gods tear apart the modern world.
The connection to Percy Jackson is not just tonal. Both series share the same fictional universe created by Riordan, meaning characters and references cross over between the two mythologies. Where Percy Jackson draws from Greek and Roman traditions, The Kane Chronicles digs into Ancient Egyptian mythology, with gods like Ra, Anubis, and Set stepping into contemporary settings. That crossover potential alone makes this a fascinating addition to Disney+'s catalog.
| Book title | Publication year | Main antagonist |
|---|---|---|
| The Red Pyramid | 2010 | Set, god of chaos |
| The Throne of Fire | 2011 | Apophis, the serpent |
| The Serpent's Shadow | 2012 | Apophis (continued) |
Riordan will return as creator and executive producer on this adaptation, alongside Rebecca Riordan, his wife and regular collaborator. They will be joined by Angela Robinson, a writer and director known for her work on How to Get Away with Murder, who brings serious television credentials to the project. Ellen Goldsmith-Vein and Jeremy Bell from The Gotham Group round out the producing team, the same outfit involved in the Percy Jackson series.
A path that almost didn't happen : from Netflix to Disney+
This adaptation almost never made it to Disney+. Netflix had previously acquired rights to develop The Kane Chronicles as a feature film, but the project stalled and never moved forward. The rights reverted to Rick Riordan in 2024, and 20th Television, which sits under the Disney umbrella, moved quickly to pick them up. It's a clean reversal of fortune, and proof that persistence in development matters.
From our side, tracking what actually makes it to a platform versus what quietly disappears into development limbo is part of the job. The Kane Chronicles had been one of those projects many fans had given up on. Now it has a real production home, a proven creative team, and a direct line to an audience already hooked by Percy Jackson.
The Disney+ strategy here is readable. Percy Jackson has grown into the platform's most successful original outside of Marvel and Star Wars content, which is a significant benchmark. Replicating that success with a companion series set in the same fictional world makes obvious sense, especially for the family and young adult audience that Disney+ still needs to keep engaged. For reference, check out how Star Wars live-action series rank among the best Disney+ originals to understand what "success" means on this platform. The bar is high, but the foundation is there.
The timing matters too. Percy Jackson is projected to run through five seasons, one for each book in Riordan's original series. If the show wraps around 2028 or 2029, The Kane Chronicles could slot in perfectly to maintain momentum rather than leave a gap in the programming calendar. That's the kind of strategic layering that keeps subscribers from canceling between big releases.
What this means for fans and what comes next
No casting has been announced yet. No premiere date has been confirmed. What we do know is that the project is in active development at 20th Television, with a full producing team assembled. Here is what has been officially confirmed so far :
- Rick Riordan will serve as creator and executive producer
- Angela Robinson joins as co-creator and executive producer
- Rebecca Riordan will executive produce alongside The Gotham Group
- The series will adapt all three books from the trilogy
- Production falls under 20th Television, distributing via Disney+
Development timelines for shows like this rarely move fast. Percy Jackson itself took years from announcement to screen. Expecting The Kane Chronicles to arrive before 2028 would be optimistic, but not impossible if pre-production accelerates through early 2027. We'll be watching every update closely, especially any casting news, which tends to be the first real signal that a production is gaining speed.
One angle worth watching : how Disney+ handles the mythology's visual language. Egyptian iconography, from hieroglyphics to divine animal forms, offers far more visual ambition than Greek mythology did in Percy Jackson. The design and effects budget will tell us a lot about how seriously the platform is investing in this world. Given that Disney+ currently hosts content across Netflix, Prime Video, and Apple TV+ competitors in our tracking, production value increasingly separates what audiences stay for versus what they skip after one episode. The Kane Chronicles has the mythology to be spectacular. The question is whether the execution matches the source material.