Disney Plus’s ‘Percy Jackson’ moves ahead with casting, sets filming start date

After waiting years for a proper adaptation of the beloved middle-grade series, fans are soaking in every update on Percy Jackson and the Olympians. A new blog post from the series’ author, Rick Riordan, illuminates pre-production progress following the series greenlight from Disney Plus earlier this year.

Riordan has frequently been updating fans of every step of the pre-production process since the project went into development in 2019, and he’s continuing to provide insight into every step of making a live-action series. After a trip to Los Angeles and Vancouver over the weekend, the author recounted that he and his wife, Becky Riordan, were present for in-person chemistry read auditions with callbacks for the main cast, Percy, Annabeth, and Grover over the weekend.

Riordan praised casting director Denise Chamian’s team, saying of the participants:

Seeing these actors taking on the roles in person made me appreciate once again just how talented and capable middle school kids can be when given a chance to shine. They were all amazing.

Then Riordan shared details of his visit to Mammoth Studios in Vancouver where the series will primarily be filmed. Construction on sets has begun in the space, Riordan relayed. And one particular photograph has really stuck with fans. A now widely circulated image the author shared of a concrete floor in the studio went viral along with his description of the image:

This is the most exciting section of concrete floor you will ever see, because upon this floor Percy, Annabeth and Grover shall walk when we begin filming (although the floor will probably be covered with set designs by then).

There will be some filming outside of the studio too. The original book is set primarily in New York City and Long Island, where demigods live in a hidden sanctuary known as Camp Halfblood, with a quest that takes its heroes across the entirety of the U.S. (and down to the underworld). 

Riordan shared a picture of the series’ pilot director James Bobin scouting locations, or rather, Bobbin’s feet.

Riordan concluded his update with more exciting news. Filming has received a start date of June 1. We’ll surely get more insight from the author when the cameras are finally rolling.