At long last, the new Disney Plus project Percy Jackson and the Olympians has found its leading hero. The beloved book series of the same name, written by author Rick Riordan, has had many homes over the years; and Riordan hasn’t hidden his distaste for previous adaptations of his material.
Following the exploits of a young demi-god named Percy Jackson after he discovers that the well-known gallery of our ancient Greek gods exists, Percy Jackson and the Olympians is a harrowing tale of identity, growing up, and friendship — shrouded in classical Greek mythology.
Former big screen attempts received mixed critical and fan reception, with many feeling the books were not depicted as faithfully as they could have been. However, Riordan opted to collaborate with Disney Plus in a last ditch effort to bring The New York Times bestseller to life.
In an October interview with The Guardian in 2020, Riordan had this to say about the developing mini series:
“I’m not a fan of Hollywood, I’ve never been starstruck. I could care less about TV and film, honestly. But that’s not true of my fans. They really wanted new adaptations, and they felt bitterly disappointed by the movies,” Riordan understands what’s at stake, and goes on to explain that regardless of former flops he and his wife Becky, “owed it to the fans to try one more time.”
Try they shall with the first official casting being announced via Riordan’s website yesterday. From the sci-fi Netflix smash The Adam Project comes its breakout young star Walker Scobell to take on the titular role of Percy Jackson.
Aside from Scobell no other confirmed castings have been announced. Plead as they might, fans around the world will have to wait to uncover who will be playing their favorite characters. With Disney playing everything Percy Jackson extremely close to the chest, not even a rumor has been leaked on important roles like Annabeth or Grover.
That hasn’t stopped dream fan castings from popping up on the internet here and there, as many try to figure out who would fit in best at Camp Half-Blood. Speculation can be extremely fun, but when it comes to the real thing there’s still so much left up for debate.
However, there is hope. It stands to reason that with Percy finally being cast the rest shall follow. It wouldn’t be surprising over the coming weeks if the entire cast of Percy Jackson and the Olympians is released, and becomes a star-studded affair fit for the gods.
