Rick Riordan, the author of the best-selling Percy Jackson series, reveals that the casting of the leading trio of the Percy Jackson and the Olympians Disney+ adaptation is now complete.
Riordan had previously announced that Walter Scobell will play Percy Jackson. However, the Percy Jackson trio is officially complete as the author recently announced the casting for Percy’s best friends, Annabeth Chase and Grover Underwood. Annabeth will be portrayed by Leah Sava Jeffries, while Aryan Simhadri will portray Grover.
Walter Scobell’s superb acting skills were clearly shown when he played the younger version of Ryan Reynolds’ character in The Adam Project. Riordan saw the similarity between Scobell and Percy Jackson. “Walter had the perfect mix of comedic timing, sweetness, rebelliousness, snark and heroism to embody our hero, Percy Jackson,” Riordan said in an article.
Leah Sava Jeffries is a young, all-around actress. According to Riordan, she “can break our hearts, and have us cheering for her all in the same scene.” Prior to landing the role as Annabeth, Jeffries has been a series regular on the TV series Empire as well as the series Rel. Riordan believes that Jeffries is the perfect fit for the Wise Girl role – intelligent, strong, and courageous, a true daughter of Athena who has zero patience for the foolishness of a certain Seaweed Brain. The author added that Jeffries’ acting is precisely the way how Riordan imagined Annabeth in the books.
Last but not least, Aryan Simhadri has also shown his acting ability. Cheaper by the Dozen and Spin are two of his most recent roles, both of which were on Disney Channel. Riordan notes in the casting announcement he posted on his blog that Simhadri’s personality has a mixture of sweetness, humor, and internal toughness that is exactly what he is looking for in the Grover Underwood role.
The trio will get together for the first time on the set in Vancouver, Canada. Riordan welcomed the trio to the project with excitement.
“We have a lot of hard work ahead of us but also a lot of fun,” Riordan wrote on his blog. “I cannot wait to get started! Please help me welcome Walker, Aryan, and Leah to the Percy Jackson universe. I promise that they will do you proud!”
As of writing, the series’ release date has not been confirmed. Riordan has great involvement in the adaptation as the series’ writer, alongside Jon Steinberg. Meanwhile, James Bobin is at the helm of the project as the series’ director. /TV
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