Percy Jackson and the Olympians has unveiled its first cast photo. To celebrate Percy Jackson's birthday, the official social media account for the upcoming Disney Plus series has released a first-look photo.
The highly-anticipated Disney Plus show is an adaptation of Rick Riordan's Percy Jackson and the Olympians pentology. Back in April, it was announced that the show had found its Percy Jackson in up-and-coming The Adam Project actor Walker Scobell. The news generated a lot of buzz about the series, but it’s only now that the fanbase gets to see a shot of Scobell in-character as Percy.
The Percy Jackson cast photo also unveils a first look at two other important characters: Annabeth Chase, the inquisitive demigod daughter of Athena (played by Leah Sava Jeffries), and Grover Underwood, Percy's satyr best friend (played by Aryan Simhadri). The casting of Jeffries and Simhadri was announced back in May, shortly after Scobell's casting as Percy Jackson was confirmed. The three of them look ready for Camp Half-Blood (a demigod training facility disguised as a summer camp), and excited about the adventure ahead of them.
The series follows 12-year-old Percy Jackson, a neurodivergent boy with ADHD and dyslexia who’s struggling with middle school. Often finding himself at the center of trouble, Percy is expelled after a particularly troubling incident during a school trip. It’s then that he uncovers the truth: he’s actually a demigod who must save the Olympians by going on an adventure to recover Zeus' missing lightning bolt. Accompanying him on his journey is the aforementioned Annabeth Chase and Grover Underwood.
It’s a promising first-look photo for fans of the novel series. While the previous film adaptations chose to age up Percy and his companions, this series opts to hew closer to the source material and depict the trio as middle-school aged. Unfortunately, there has been racist vitriol directed at Percy Jackon star Jeffries because Annabeth Chase is depicted as white in the books.
But it’s clear that Jeffries was chosen for her acting abilities, and she will certainly bring the wisdom and bravery that’s necessary for the role. Her casting is Rick Riordan-approved, and he posted a blog entry entitled simply “Leah Jeffries is Annabeth Chase”. In it, he assured fans that all of the actors were chosen because they were the best at bringing the characters to life. Seeing the actors in character for the first time, it’s easy to see why.
Percy Jackson and the Olympians is expected to hit Disney Plus in 2024.
Source: Percy Jackson/Twitter