From Weird Barbie to… Aphrodite? Saturday Night Live (SNL) alum Kate McKinnon is set to play a recurring role as the Greek goddess of love and beauty in Season 3 of Percy Jackson and the Olympians.
According to the official character description, Aphrodite “can alter her appearance depending on the beholder” — true to her mythological roots. She’ll be testing Percy Jackson (Walker Scobell) to ensure he truly understands the power and importance of love before she offers any help on his quest.
It might seem like unconventional casting at first glance, entrusting the role of a traditionally alluring goddess to someone best known for silly sketch comedy hijinks. But McKinnon’s range shouldn’t be underestimated — she spent a decade on SNL, racking up 10 Emmy nominations and two wins along the way. Her film resume is just as stacked, with standout roles in Bombshell, Yesterday, The Spy Who Dumped Me, and the 2016 Ghostbusters reboot. More recently, she stole scenes as Weird Barbie in Greta Gerwig’s blockbuster Barbie and played Carole Baskin in Peacock’s limited series Joe vs. Carole.
This casting is a win for the Disney+ series, which has been steadily building momentum since its 2023 debut. Showrunners Jonathan E. Steinberg and Dan Shotz continue to guide the series alongside creator Rick Riordan, whose beloved middle-grade book series remains the blueprint. McKinnon joins the core cast of Scobell, Leah Sava Jeffries, and Aryan Simhadri, all of whom will return for another monster-filled adventure. The show has also cast fan-favourite demigod siblings Nico and Bianca di Angelo, with Levi Chrisopulos (Peter Pan the musical) and Olive Abercrombie (Mayfair Witches) taking on the roles in Season 3.
Season 2 premieres on Disney+ on 10 December 2025. Meanwhile, Season 3 is currently in production in Vancouver, and will be based on the third book of the Percy Jackson series, The Titan’s Curse, which sees the famed demigod embark on a dangerous rescue quest with his friends.
Joyce is a language nerd whose idea of a good time includes speed-solving Rubik’s cubes and binging Netflix, all fuelled by drinking many, many mugs of tea.
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