Good news for fans of Rick Riordan’s Percy Jackson books: the TV adaption has finally cast its star.
Walker Scobell, who made his movie debut only months ago when Ryan Reynolds’ The Adam Project aired on Netflix, is now set to front one of the most beloved children’s franchises in recent years.
The 13-year-old will be playing 12-year-old Percy in the Disney+ adaption of the book series, with production due to start later this summer.
The TV series will follow the story of Percy Jackson, a demigod teenager who finds himself thrust into a world of Greek mythology in modern-day America.
After he is accused of stealing Zeus’ lightning bolt, Percy must go on a journey across the country and ultimately to Hades to reclaim it, fighting monsters and encountering gods along the way.
“He’s impulsive and rambunctious and is quick to anger when things seem unfair to him. But beneath his cynicism is an affectionate son and loyal friend who just wants to do right by those he cares about. If only he could find a place where he fits in,” the character description reads.
The news was announced by Variety on Monday morning, but series author Rick Riordan – who is executive producer, and is co-writing the pilot episode with Jon Steinberg – also chipped in, sharing a photo of Scobell to his Instagram and writing: “Demigods, the time has come. I am thrilled to introduce you to Percy Jackson.”
On his blog, he went onto praise the actor, saying: “It was obvious to me and the rest of the team that Walker had the perfect mix of comedic timing, sweetness, rebelliousness, snark and heroism to embody our hero Percy Jackson.”
He also revealed that Scobell had auditioned for the role “months before” The Adam Project came out on Netflix, saying that he had been given the role via Zoom call on January 28.
As an added bonus, Scobell is also “a super-fan of the books”.
Fans will be hoping that the new series does better than the previous adaption of the franchise. The first of Riordan’s books, The Lightning Thief, came out as a film starring Logan Lerman in 2010 and was universally panned by critics and audiences.
Though a second film was made – titled Percy Jackson: Sea of Monsters – the other three books in the series were never adapted.
