Percy Jackson and the Olympians redefines what a hero looks like in first trailer at D23
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Among all the upcoming Marvel movies and series, the D23 Expo in Anaheim, Calif. brought with it a new teaser for the highly-anticipated Disney+ show, Percy Jackson and the Olympians.
Starring Adam Project's Walker Scobell as the titular demigod, Percy Jackson and the Olympians, based on the popular fantasy novels by Rick Riordan, will follow the mythical adventures of Camp Half-Blood.
Leah Sava Jeffries (Empire) will play Annabeth, who, like Percy is a demigod, or half-blood child of a god, and Aryan Simhadri (Spin) will play Grover, a satyr who disguises himself as a human boy.
Disney+
News of Jeffries' casting sparked a racist backlash among some fans of the series, leading Riordan to write a strongly-worded post on his website decrying the response.
"Whatever else you take from this post, we should be able to agree that bullying and harassing a child online is inexcusably wrong," Riordan wrote. "As strong as Leah is, as much as we have discussed the potential for this kind of reaction and the intense pressure this role will bring, the negative comments she has received online are out of line. They need to stop. Now."
While Annabeth is described as white in the books and was previously played by Alexandra Daddario in the 2010 Percy Jackson live-action film, Riordan said in his casting announcement for the part that Jeffries, who's Black, was exactly the way he imagined Annabeth. "Smart, strong and courageous, a true daughter of Athena who has zero patience for the foolishness of a certain Seaweed Brain," he remarked.
Unlike the previous film adaptations, 2010's Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Lightning Thief and 2013's Percy Jackson: Sea of Monsters (as well as the 2014 Broadway musical) Riordan was heavily involved in the series.
The author wrote the pilot alongside Jon Steinberg (Black Sails), with James Bobin (The Muppets, Dora and the Lost City of Gold) directing. Steinberg and producing partner Dan Shotz are serving as showrunners.
Though there is no release date yet for Percy Jackson and the Olympians, Riordan expects it to come down from on high some time in 2024.
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