The upcoming Percy Jackson series is moving forward at Disney+. According to The Hollywood Reporter, the streamer has tapped on Walker Scobell (The Adam Project) to lead the series as the titular character. The casting was announced by author Rick Riordan (Percy Jackson, The Heroes of Olympus) on his website.
“Walker Scobell is an incredibly talented young man who blew us away with his audition tapes for the role of Percy,” Riordan said on his website. “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. 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.”
A Percy Jackson series was first announced last year and was confirmed to stream exclusively on Disney+. The series received a straight-to-series order in January. Based on the popular book series by Riordan, the live-action adaptation will follow a 12-year-old boy who learns that he is a demigod. While coming to terms with his new lineage and powers, Percy is accused by the god Zeus of stealing his lightning bolt. To clear his name, Percy embarks on a journey across America to get Zeus’s bolt back and restore Mount Olympus.
The book series attempted a live-action franchise with two films starring Logan Lerman (The Perks of Being a Wallflower, Fury) as an aged-up Percy. However, the films received backlash from fans due to several key changes from page to screen.
Riordan will write the pilot alongside John Steinberg (Black Sails) with James Bobin (Alice Through the Looking Glass) directing. Riordan, Bobin, and Steinberg will also serve as executive producers.
Scobell has made a name for himself with Netflix’s The Adam Project with Ryan Reynolds (Deadpool, Free Guy). He will also be starring in the upcoming film, Secret Headquarters, at Paranmount.
A release has not been confirmed for Percy Jackson and the Olympians.