Percy Jackson Star Teases Major Character From The Books Coming in Disney+ Series

Percy Jackson and the Olympians may be the second live-action telling of Rick Riordan’s best-selling The Lightning Thief, but the Disney+ adaptation looks poised to bring multiple never-before-seen elements from the book to life. The 2010 Logan Lerman-led film saw aspects of Percy’s quest, traits of Camp Half-Blood’s demigods, and specifics regarding The Great Prophecy significantly altered to fit within the two hour motion picture. One of the most significant changes came in the form of the story’s antagonist, as the book’s big bad in Ares was substituted for Hades. While the god of the underworld was no friend to the son of Poseidon in the first novel, his placement as an antagonist was significantly emphasized for the movie.

While there has been no word on casting yet, it appears that Disney+’s Percy Jackson will be bringing Ares to the streaming screen. Speaking to IMDb, leading man Walker Scobell revealed that the climactic battle with the god of war is what he’s most excited to bring to life.

“It was the Ares fight. That was probably the coolest fight in the whole series,” Scobell said. “When I got casted for this, the first thing I thought was, ‘Ares fight.’ I’m so excited to do it.”

While most of the gods factor in the Percy Jackson book series as no more than cameos, Ares is very much a supporting character in The Lightning Thief. The hot-headed god plays an integral role within the conspiracy revolving around Zeus’s master bolt, and is a lingering presence throughout all five books.

Co-star Leah Jeffries, who portrays Annabeth Chase, also proclaimed their fandom for the books. Jeffries gave praise to Riordan, the author of the series who is also serving as an executive producer on the show, particularly shining light on his writing style.

“I’m a really big fan of it. I love the whole series. I think it’s amazing the way how Mr. Rick wrote it,” Jeffries said. “He gave me a lot of great pointers on things like, ‘In this part, I think you should actually add something to it.’ And sometimes he’ll be like, ‘Be yourself in this one. Let’s see what happens.’”

Those pointers have allowed Jeffries to embrace her role as the daughter of Athena.

“At first in this, I was Leah, and now wherever I go I’m like, ‘I’m not even Leah anymore. I’m just Annabeth,’” Jeffries said. “I really connected to the character so much.”

Percy Jackson and the Olympians is currently in production.