If You Want to Be Percy Jackson, Here’s Your Chance

The long-anticipated Percy Jackson Disney+ series, based on the book series by the same name, is slowly on its way to becoming a reality, and young actors can have their own chance to join the cast.

On Tuesday, Rick Riordan’s Twitter account announced a preliminary casting call for the series. The series follows Percy Jackson and young demigods, who are the children of gods and mortals, through quests and battles. The first season of the Greek mythology-inspired series is set to follow the plot of the first book, Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief.

The series would likely feature DC if all five seasons get made. The third book, The Titan’s Curse, had the young demigods sneak into the Smithsonian’s National Air and Space Museum and National Museum of Natural History as a part of a quest.

One of the first priorities now for casting is picking the person to play one Percy Jackson. The call is looking for a male who will play the 12-year-old and describes a character who is very true to the book. “He’s always seen himself as an outsider, in no small part because of how the world sees his ADHD and dyslexia. He’s no wallflower though. He’s impulsive and rambunctious, and is quick to anger when things seem unfair to him. Sarcasm is just another service he offers, but beneath his cynicism is an affectionate son and loyal friend who just wants to do right by those he cares about.” To audition, one must submit a video of themselves reading a passage from any book in the Percy Jackson and the Olympians series.

This casting strategy is quite the change from the original movies, which many (Rick Riordan included) like to pretend don’t exist. The 2010 film tried to cater to an older teenage audience. This can be seen partly in the casting of Logan Lerman, who was 18 at the time, as the son of Poseidon.

It looks like they don’t have anyone in particular in mind, but are rather looking for the best audition. “We are looking for the best person who can embody the character we all know and love from the books.” Casting efforts for the other characters including the other two “big three” characters, Annabeth Chase and Grover Underwood, has not started yet.

Fans of the series are reacting to the announcement on Twitter with many thoughts and reactions about casting.