Casting for the lead role of Percy for the upcoming Disney+ series ‘Percy Jackson’ has now begun. Rick Riordan, author of the YA novel ‘Percy Jackson and The Olympians’, on which the series will be based, announced a preliminary casting call for the role through a blog on his official website.
Check out the official announcement by Rick Riordan 👇
Based on the book series by Riordan and inspired by Greek mythology, the Disney+ series will follow a 12-year old troubled boy Percy Jackson who finds out that he is the son of the Greek god of water, Poseidon and hence a demigod. Joined by his friends Grover, a satyr and Annabeth, the daughter of Athena, Percy will save the world from mythological threats while growing up. The first season of the Percy Jackson series on Disney+ will reportedly be based on the first of the five books in the series.
As per Riordan’s blog, the casting process is now in its earliest stages and this is a preliminary search. They are looking for an actor who can “play 12” and the goal is to stay true to the original story. There is no specific ethnicity factor required for the role of Percy and the search is for a person who can best embody the character.
Also, Disney’s company policy will be followed which says, “We are committed to diverse, inclusive casting. For every role, please submit qualified performers, without regard to disability, gender, race and ethnicity, age, color, national origin, sexual orientation, gender identity or any other basis prohibited by law.”
Riordan further added that anybody who wants to audition can submit a self-tape for consideration for the role of Percy Jackson. All the information regarding this is available at the link : PercyJacksonOpenCall.20thTelevision.com
The first two books of Riordan’s ‘Percy Jackson’ series have earlier been adapted into films by 20th Century Fox. While Chris Columbus’ ‘Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Lightning Thief’ came out in 2010, the second part ‘Percy Jackson: Sea of Monsters’ directed by Thor Freudenthal, released in 2013.