A new Zeus is set to throw the lightning bolt in Season 2 of Percy Jackson and the Olympians. Emmy winner Courtney B. Vance has been tapped to play the king of the Greek gods in Disney’s live-adaptation show of Rick Riordan’s novels, replacing the late Lance Reddick, who died at age 60 shortly after production wrapped on the first season.
“I can’t tell you how excited I am to join the extraordinary cast of Percy Jackson and the Olympians,” saidThe People v O.J. Simpson star in a statement. “There are few moments in an actor’s career when you can honestly say that you’re about to board a series that has such a devoted fan base filled with characters beloved around the world and is based on a wildly successful book series. I know that stepping into this role of Zeus will be a memorable experience and I’ll be giving my brother, Lance Reddick, who left us way too soon, a heavenly hug.”
Vance will join Daniel Diemer (Under the Bridge), Tamara Smart (The Worst Witch), and Andra Day (The United States vs. Billie Holiday), alongside guest stars Sandra Bernhard (Roseanne), Magaret Cho (30 Rock), and Kristen Schaal (Gravity Falls) as series newcomers. Percy Jackson and the Olympians Season 2 is currently in production and slated to air next year on Disney+.
The forthcoming outing is based on “The Sea of Monsters”, the second book in Riordan’s novel series of the same name. “When Thalia’s tree is mysteriously poisoned, the magical borders of Camp Half-Blood begin to fail. Now Percy and his friends have just days to find the only magic item powerful to save the camp before it is overrun by monsters. The catch: they must sail into the Sea of Monsters to find it,” reads the official synopsis for the book.
“Along the way, Percy must stage a daring rescue operation to save his old friend Grover, and he learns a terrible secret about his own family, which makes him question whether being the son of Poseidon is an honour or a curse.”
Walker Scobell plays the titular character in the show, with Aryan Simhadri (Grover) and Leah Sava Jeffries (Annabeth) rounding out the main protagonist trio. Riordan serves as executive producer for Season 2, alongside showrunners Jonathan E. Steinberg and Dan Shotz, Rebecca Riordan, Craig Silverstein, Bert Salke, The Gotham Group’s Ellen Goldsmith-Vein, Jeremy Bell and D.J. Goldberg, James Bobin, Jim Rowe, Albert Kim, Jason Ensler and Sarah Watson.
Si Jia is a casual geek at heart – or as casual as someone with Sephiroth’s theme on her Spotify playlist can get. A fan of movies, games, and Japanese culture, Si Jia’s greatest weakness is the Steam Summer Sale. Or any Steam sale, really.
Natalie
