The newPercy Jacksonseries adaptation has added two more actors to its cast. Aryan Simhadri, best known for Disney’sSpin,and Leah Sava Jeffries, known forEmpire, will star alongside Walker Scobell in Disney Plus’Percy Jackson and the Olympiansas the main character’s friends.
The upcomingDisney Plusproject, which is soon set to start production in Vancouver, follows the coming-of-agejourney of Percy Jackson(Scobell), a 12-year-old boy who struggles with ADHD and dyslexia and who always finds himself at the center of trouble, though he doesn’t understand why. Following an incident on a school field trip that gets him expelled, Percy discovers that he’s a demigod and his learning disabilities are, in fact, divine powers. However, he has little time to come to terms with his newfound powers, as he must embark on an adventure to recover Zeus' missing lightning bolt —but our hero is not alone: he’s accompanied by his friends, who help Percy save the gods, all while going through the bittersweet experiences that come with puberty.
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Simhadri will play Grover Underwood, a mythological half-boy, half-goat creature disguised as a pre-teen. Grover is a cautious, empathetic character who cares deeply about his friends and will always come to their aid. Jeffries, on the other hand, will take on the role of Annabeth Chase, an inquisitive child who is also the true daughter of the Greek goddess Athena. After spending five long years at the Camp Half-Blood (a magical summer camp for demigod children), Annabeth longs to connect with the human world, something that she does thanks to Percy, whom she, in turn, trains to survive the mythological world.
James Bobin will direct the pilot episode ofPercy Jackson and the Olympians. Rick Riordan, author of the children’s book franchise on which the show is based, will co-write alongside Jon Steinberg, who will also serve as executive producer. The series will develop at 20th Century Studios, known as 20th Century Fox before Disney acquired it.
This won’t be the first attempt to adapt Percy Jackson into a live-action project. 20th Century Studios was also behind 2010’sPercy Jackson and the Olympians: The Lightning Thiefand its 2013 sequel, Sea of Monsters.The film, directed by Chris Columbus and starring Logan Lerman, failed to captivate fans due to its loose revamp of the source material. Moreover, Riordan had no creative involvement in the making of the film.
Given how disappointing thePercy Jacksonmovies were, it won’t take much effort for the Disney Plus series to become a much better adaptation. Nevertheless, having Riordan take part in its development and maintain creative control proves how committed20th Century Studiosis to give fans of the book a fun and exciting take on such a children’s classic.
Percy Jackson and the Olympiansstarts production later this year.
