‘Percy Jackson and the Olympians’ Casts Walker Scobell in Title Role
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Demigods, it’s official. Disney+’s Percy Jackson and the Olympians has found its Percy Jackson in Walker Scobell, the streaming service announced Monday, April 11. The series will begin production this summer.
The 13-year-old actor is known for playing Young Adam in Netflix’s The Adam Project. And now, he’ll be leading the highly anticipated TV adaptation of Rick Riordan’s beloved Percy Jackson novels.
“Percy Jackson and the Olympians tells the fantastical story of a 12-year-old modern demigod, Percy Jackson, who’s just coming to terms with his newfound supernatural powers when the sky god Zeus accuses him of stealing his master lightning bolt,” Disney+ teases of the series. “Now Percy must trek across America to find it and restore order to Olympus.”
“Percy Jackson is a smart and compassionate kid with a sharp sense of humor,” the streaming service describes of the main character. “He’s always seen himself as an outsider, in no small part because of how the world sees his ADHD and dyslexia. He’s impulsive and rambunctious and is quick to anger when things seem unfair to him. But beneath his cynicism is an affectionate son and loyal friend who just wants to do right by those he cares about. If only he could find a place where he fits in.”
Riordan and Jon Steinberg will serve as writers of the Percy Jackson pilot episode, and James Bobin will direct. The author will also executive produce. He’s been keeping fans updated on the status of the Disney+ series on his blog since it was announced in December 2020. The author shared details about Scobell’s casting in an April 11 update.
“Walker Scobell is an incredibly talented young man who blew us away with his audition tapes for the role of Percy. Many of you recently discovered how great Walker is when you watched his movie The Adam Project, in which Walker lit up the screen as a younger version of Ryan Reynolds’ character. We were fortunate enough to audition Walker months before that movie came out, but the film only confirmed what we already knew about his talent,” Riordan said. “It was obvious to me and the rest of the team that Walker had the perfect mix of comedic timing, sweetness, rebelliousness, snark, and heroism to embody our hero Percy Jackson.”
“I got to deliver the news to Walker personally via Zoom back on Jan. 28 that he had been chosen for the part,” he continued, “and it was a magical moment that made me feel for the first time: ‘Okay, this is real. This is worth all the waiting and the hard work. This project is going to be amazing.’ It has been tough keeping this information under my hat because I was so excited to share the news with the fans!”
Happy #LightningThiefWeek! Some good news on the blog to start your week right: https://t.co/SyXNyCPCut
— Rick Riordan (@rickriordan) April 11, 2022
“More news soon, demigods, but please give Walker a huge Camp Half-Blood welcome,” Riordan closed out his post. “He is going to surpass your highest expectations from the very first line of the show.”
Percy Jackson and the Olympians is a Disney Branded Television series produced by 20th Television, a part of Disney Television Studios. Steinberg will oversee the series with producing partner Dan Shotz, both of whom will also serve as executive producers alongside Bobin, Rebecca Riordan, Bert Salke, Monica Owusu-Breen, Jim Rowe, and The Gotham Group’s Ellen Goldsmith-Vein, Jeremy Bell and D.J. Goldberg.
Percy Jackson and the Olympians, Series Premiere, TBA, Disney+
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