Rick Riordan, author of the Percy Jackson & The Olympians series and an executive producer for the upcoming Percy Jackson series on Disney+, has confirmed that the series will be gaining three more big-name Greek gods pretty soon. News of the new additions comes not long after playwright and actor Lin-Manuel Miranda was announced as Hermes, the god of messengers.
First published in 2005, the Percy Jackson & The Olympians novels tell the story of the eponymous hero Percy Jackson, a sarcastic, sassy, and loyal twelve-year-old who learns that the Greek gods of ancient myth are alive in the modern world. What’s more, Percy himself is the son of Poseidon, god of the sea. After he’s accused of stealing Zeus’s signature lightning bolt, Percy must team up with fellow demigod Annabeth Chase, a daughter of Athena, and Grover, his satyr best friend, on a cross-country quest to retrieve the bolt before a divine war breaks out.
The TV adaptation of Percy Jackson on Disney+ was first announced earlier this year. It will star Walker Scobell (The Adam Project) as Percy Jackson, with Leah Sava Jeffries (Beast) as Annabeth and Aryan Simhadri (Cheaper by the Dozen) as Grover. Glynn Turman, Timm Sharp, and Jessica Parker Kennedy will also star in assorted roles, but some of the most important casting decisions of the show are undoubtedly those of the Olympian gods that exist as an eternal presence in all of Percy’s adventures.
Rick Riordan Announces New Gods For ‘Percy Jackson’ Series
Among the gods already cast in the Disney+ series are Ares, the god of war, played by wrestler Adam Copeland; Jason Mountzakas, known for his role in Brooklyn Nine-Nine, will appear as Dionysus, the ill-tempered god of wine and parties. Lin-Manuel Miranda marks the most recent addition to the cast as Hermes, the god of travelers and thieves and Luke Castellan’s (Charlie Bushnell) father. Still, Rick Riordan has recently announced that the roles of Zeus, Poseidon, and Hades have been filled, though their actors haven’t been announced yet.
“I had a lovely chat with the god Hades,” Riordan announced on his website, according to Comicbook.com. “Can’t tell you who it is yet, but he did such a great job. And wow, the Underworld set! Amazing stuff as usual from our art & design team.”
Riordan’s announcement likely means that Zeus, Poseidon, and Hades – known as the “Big Three” gods – will likely appear in season 1 of the Percy Jackson series on Disney+, which will follow the events of Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief, the first book in the series. Riordan has warned fans not to expect a fully Olympian pantheon in the first season of the show, stating that the casting of the gods will follow their appearances in the book series in the following announcement on his website:
Rick Riordan has also confirmed that Zeus, Poseidon, and Hades will not be played by the same actors that portrayed them in the 2010 film adaptation of The Lightning Thief – Sean Bean, Kevin McKidd, and Steve Coogan, respectively. The author has stated that the reasoning behind this decision is to make the series “completely different production and a fresh start for Percy Jackson” with “an entirely new cast putting their own spin on the characters.”
It is currently unclear when the actors behind Zeus, Poseidon, and Hades in the Disney+ series will be revealed, but fans are eagerly awaiting the news. The Disney+ Percy Jackson series is currently slated to be released sometime in 2024.
