Fans of the Percy Jackson and the Olympians series have been buzzing since the announcement that Walker Scobell will be playing the titular role in the live-action remake being produced by Disney+. The announcement, which was shared by author Rick Riordan, came out on April 11. It is expected that the casting for Annabeth and Grover will be announced in late April to early May, and fans are eager to find out who will play these beloved characters.
Scobell seems to be a perfect fit for the character of Percy. He recently starred in The Adam Project with Ryan Reynolds and has made his love of the series clear. He was wearing a Camp Half-Blood t-shirt when he got the news, and proudly owns a Yankee’s ball cap just like Annabeth does in the series. It’s thrilling to have a Percy who is an avid fan. He has the right about of snark, comedy and sincerity to play the beloved son of Poseidon.
Anyone who is familiar with how the 2010 movie adaptation turned out will already recognize the improvement with this one announcement. Percy Jackson, who is a 12-year-old boy, was aged up to 16 for the movie and was played by 18-year-old Logan Lerman. Although the movies are among the ranks of poor movie adaptations of books, the visuals and characterizations still fit with the series as a whole. If Logan was able to play Percy when he was younger things could have turned out very differently. While Lerman did a great job and holds the special position as the first person to play Percy Jackson in the flesh, it will be nice to see how Scobell grows into the role and that he gets to portray the character as he was written.
It’s not just a 12-year-old Percy that has fans’ expectations raised. There is more hope for the series. The director of the first episode is familiar with the books, which is a great improvement from the movie, as the director never read them. Rick Riordan has also been working closely with the series and is heavily involved with its production, all but guaranteeing that major decisions will be approved by him.
Fans are excited to get more teasers over the coming months, especially any new cast announcements. Filming will be starting this summer, which will bring new news with it. While there are still many months of waiting ahead of us, the hype will continue in earnest.