Disney+’s Percy Jackson and the Olympians Casting For Lead Actor

Disney+’s Percy Jackson and The Olympians series is officially casting for its lead actor. Percy Jackson author Rick Riordan shared the news on his official website and Twitter on Tuesday. In the post on his website, Riordan notes that the search is a preliminary one and offers up quite a few details about what they will be looking for when casting the role of Percy, including details about age, ethnicity, and how people can audition if they are so inclined.

“The latest news for you all on PJO TV: The casting process is now in its earliest stages, which means we have put out a casting call to the talent agencies for an actor to play Percy Jackson,” Riordan writes.

According to the details Riordan shares, they are looking for an actor who can “play 12” so that they can ideally see the character age from 12-16 over the course of the series. He also notes that they are not looking for a specific ethnicity. Instead, he says they are looking for “the best person who can embody the character we all know and love from the books. As with all casting choices, we will be following Disney’s company policy, which says: We are committed to diverse, inclusive casting. For every role, please submit qualified performers, without regard to disability, gender, race and ethnicity, age, color, national origin, sexual orientation, gender identity or any other basis prohibited by law.”

You can check out Riordan’s full post here.

First published in 2005, the first novel, Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Lightning Thief was adapted into a feature film in 2010. That film starred Logan Lerman in the title role and a sequel was produced three years later. However, both films were derided by fans as being too different from the source material and even Riordan himself has spoken out about the films, previously stating that he has not seen the movies and does not plan to, having judged them on the scripts.

As for the Disney+ series, Riordan himself announced that it was in the works last year.

“For the past decade, you’ve worked hard to champion a faithful on-screen adaptation of Percy Jackson’s world,” Riordan said when the series was announced. “We can’t say much more at this stage but we are very excited about the idea of a live-action series of the highest quality, following the storyline of the original Percy Jackson five-book series, starting with The Lightning Thief in season one. Rest assured that Becky and I will be involved in person in every aspect of the show. There will be much more news in the future, but for now, we have a lot of work to do! Buckle up, demigods. It’s going to be a fantastic exciting ride!”

Are you excited for more Percy Jackson? Let us know down in the comments!