Composer Bear McCreary offered some insight into why he has not yet played Annabeth's full theme music in Percy Jackson and the Olympians on Disney+.
Given the show's commitment to book-authenticity (even if not complete accuracy), longtime fans are coming into Season 2 with a general idea of what to expect in the way of story and character arcs.
However, the show allows for perspectives beyond Percy's own first-person narrative. For instance, one of the most noteworthy additions to Season 1's story was a scene between Sally Jackson and Poseidon that Percy was not there for.
With that in mind, it is noteworthy that in March, McCreary revealed on his website that Annabeth's full musical theme has not yet been revealed in the Percy Jackson show, as the character (and her relationship with Percy) still has a lot of growing to do.
PJO Composer on Annabeth's Growing Character Arc
Speaking with The Direct's Gillian Blum at New York Comic Con while promoting his new project The Singularity, Percy Jackson and the Olympians composer Bear McCreary explained more about why viewers have not heard Annabeth's full musical theme yet, and discussed how it relates to her future character arc.
As McCreary discusses, fans of the Percy Jackson books already know that "Annabeth is a very dynamic character," and that she still has "a big journey" ahead of her.
He spoke to how since he has "a sense of where the story is gonna go from the source material," he wanted to write a theme that would be able to "work down the line" as her character develops:
"Well, Annabeth is a very dynamic character who's going to go on a big journey, right? And I think that one of the fun things about adapting something like Percy Jackson into television is that we have a sense of where the story is gonna go from the source material. And so I wanted to write something for Annabeth that I knew could work down the line."
McCreary talked about how the taste of Annabeth's theme in the end credits "is more Romantic in the capital R sense," describing the tease for what is to come with her character as "bigger and more lyrical and more powerful ... and has more agency to it."
He then discussed how right now, that is not where Annabeth is, with her currently being "very much a foil for Percy." McCreary added that the version of Annabeth in Season 1 is more a representation of "how she [Annabeth] shapes him [Percy]." Essentially, like in the books because of their first-person perspectives, Annabeth's arc so far has been who she is in relation to Percy:
"I gave you a little hint of this in the end credits. You hear a version of Annabeth's theme that is more Romantic in the capital R sense. It's bigger and more lyrical and more powerful, right? It has more agency to it, and you only hear it in the end credits because I think we're gonna get to that version of the character. In Season 1, her role right now is very much a foil for Percy — how she shapes him."
Though the character is not at that place of self-discovery quite yet, and has thus far been portrayed more through Percy's eyes than anyone else's (as will be discussed more later), McCreary knows it is coming. So, he still wrote the theme early on, despite it not being revealed to audiences just yet:
"But I also had to write a version of her theme to know it would work later, I had to test it out. And once I tested it out I thought, 'Wow it's pretty cool, maybe I'll throw it in the end credits.'"
McCreary reiterated how much he loves "working on a story" that has established source material, because "you have a sense that we're going to be able to tell that full story." So, McCreary worked "to make sure [he's] done [his] part to lay the groundwork:"
"But it is one of the joys for me of working on a story like that, because I can look down the line. Most of the time in television, you don't really know what's gonna happen in Season 2, Season 3, Season 4. You don't even know if you're gonna get that far. But when you're adapting something like 'Percy Jackson' and 'Lord of the Rings,' you have a sense, I mean, you never know what's gonna happen, but you have a sense that we're going to be able to tell that whole story and I want to make sure I've done my part to lay the groundwork."
The relevant clip of the interview can be found below:
An Annabeth-Centric Character Arc
To be clear, Annabeth certainly is a full, well-rounded character in the Percy Jackson books. But, in the first series, she is never presented outside of Percy's first-person perspective. Readers actually do not hear her own narration until Mark of Athena, the third book of the second series.
As such, the fact that Annabeth's theme could not be properly played in full because she is not yet "that version of the character" as she has only been shown in terms of "how she shapes" Percy, implies big things for her character moving forward.
It has already been confirmed that there will be flashbacks in Season 2 to events that Percy was not present for — specifically, scenes from Annabeth's time on the run with Luke and Thalia, shown from the perspective of Annabeth herself.
With that in mind, McCreary saying that Annabeth's character will continue to grow from beyond how Percy sees her means that there will likely be more focus on her own story than the books could do within the constraints of Percy's narration.
This all is taken a step further with the casting of Andra Day as Athena (Annabeth's godly parent), announced at D23 Brazil on Nov. 10. Athena does not technically appear in The Sea of Monsters book — Annabeth does talk about seeing her in a vision, though, during the iconic siren scene.
As such, it could be that one of these non-Percy-centric additions to the story is Annabeth's vision itself, rather than having her simply describe it to Percy. This would explain how Athena fits into a story she does not otherwise have a role in, and would put the spotlight on Annabeth even more, taking advantage of the more fluid point-of-view the show has. However, that is simply speculation.
She could also, or instead, appear in one of Annabeth's confirmed flashback sequences, which would bring in a new element to the story that allows for Annabeth's story arc to expand further.
This less constrained perspective of the narrative would be particularly noteworthy if Percy Jackson were to see a Season 3 down the road. Annabeth spends most of the story separated from Percy and facing her own challenges and struggles, which would be able to be shown to audiences outside of Percy's dreams of her.
But, that is thinking very far ahead, as Season 2 is not even finished filming yet.
Season 1 of Percy Jackson and the Olympians is available to stream on Disney+.
Gillian Blum has been a writer at The Direct since 2022, reporting primarily from New York City. Though she covers news from across the entertainment industry, Gillian has a particular focus on Marvel and DC, including comics, movies, and television shows. She also commonly reports on Percy Jackson, Invincible, and other similar franchises.
