We inch closer and closer to the end of 2022, we get closer to Disney releasing its highly-anticipated Percy Jackson series on to Disney+. Disney announced that a Percy Jackson series was in development a couple of years ago, but it was finally ordered to series in January. Filming is expected to begin soon in Vancouver, British Columbia. Disney has not announced a premiere date for the show, but many were hoping that it would premiere sometime before the end of this year.
We recently learned that Disney had made a major step forward in the show’s production by casting young actor Walker Scobell to play Percy Jackson — the young demigod around whom the series revolves. Now we are learning that Disney has finally cast two other major roles in the series. The Hollywood Reporter reported that Disney has cast Leah Sava Jeffries and Aryan Simhadri to play Percy’s best friends, Annabeth Chase and Grover Underwood.
Here is more information on the two characters they will play:
Grover is a satyr (half human, half goat) disguised as a 12-year-old boy. He cares deeply about others and will put their needs before his own, sometimes at his peril. He and Percy are best friends, and though he’s naturally cautious, Grover will always join in a fight to protect his friends.
Annabeth is a true daughter of Athena with a gift for strategy and a curious mind. Having spent the last five years at Camp Half-Blood, a demigod training facility, she has little memory of the human world. She trains Percy to survive the mythological world, while he becomes her guide to connect with humanity.
Both Jeffries and Simhadri are familiar with the acting world. Jeffries has already had roles in incredibly popular television shows, including Rel and Empire. Simhadri is already a part of the Disney family, as he has appeared in multiple Disney films and movies. He played the character of Rohan in the Disney Channel movie Spin. He voiced Dhruv in the series Mira, Royal Detective, and most recently, he played Hare$h in Disney’s newest remake, Cheaper by the Dozen.
The new Percy Jackson and the Olympians series will be written by Jonathan Steinberg and Rick Riordan — who also wrote the original novel series on which the show is based. The series will be directed by James Bobin, who has worked with Disney on a number of films, including The Muppets (2011), Muppets Most Wanted (2014), Alice Through the Looking Glass (2016), and The Mysterious Benedict Society.Â