The Disney+ Percy Jackson Series Casts Lance Reddick As Zeus, Toby Stephens As Poseidon

No demigod story would be complete without a couple of temperamental Gods to make life unnecessarily difficult! After months of secret-keeping, Disney has finally pulled back the curtain on two of the most prominent Gods in their "Percy Jackson and the Olympians" series. That's right — we finally have a Zeus and a Poseidon, both of which are perfect. Lance Reddick ("The Wire," "John Wick") is stepping up as the King of the Gods himself, Zeus. And in the role of Percy's father, Poseidon, is the swashbuckling "Black Sails" alum Toby Stephens.

Sorry, longtime Percy Jackson fans. Logan Lerman is not returning to the world of monsters and Gods as Poseidon. Sure, that might've made for a poetic full-circle moment since he played Percy in the godawful 2010 movie adaptation, but it just wasn't meant to be. We can still hold out for a cameo though, or maybe even a different godly spot for Lerman to fill. (I know he maintains that he's wholly uninvolved in the series, but if Andrew Garfield could lie to our faces for a whole damn year about Spider-Man, then I'm sure Lerman can pull it off too).

Reddick and Stephens have officially joined a cast that includes three young leads — Walker Scolbell as Percy, Leah Sava Jeffries as Annabeth, and Aryan Simhadri as Grover — along with fellow Gods of Olympus, Hades (Jay Duplass), Hermes (Lin-Manuel Miranda), Hephaestus (Timothy Omundson), and Dionysus (Jason Mantzoukas). The series will follow 12-year-old demigod Percy Jackson as he comes to accept his newfound divine powers. But before he can settle into his new life, he ends up an enemy of Olympus when sky deity Zeus accuses the poor kid of stealing his master lightning bolt. This sets Percy off on an adventure with Grover and Annabeth to find and restore order to Olympus.

So who exactly are the two Gods complicating the life of our favorite chaotic demigod? Lance Reddick's Zeus is described as "the all-powerful god of the sky and leader of Mount Olympus." Tempestuous and mistrustful, Zeus promises to wage a war if his stolen thunderbolt is not returned. 

We heard your calls all the way from Olympus. Welcome to #PercyJackson and the Olympians.

⚡️ Lance Reddick as Zeus
⚡️ Toby Stephens as Poseidon pic.twitter.com/r9LtW37znI

— Percy Jackson (@PercySeries) January 26, 2023

The sky god is typically considered the most powerful, so not many would dare to challenge him. But Poseidon has always believed that if he can tame the sea, he can take on his temperamental brother. Per his official character description, "Although seemingly absent in Percy's life, many of Poseidon's qualities live in Percy; stubbornness, impulsiveness, and loyalty. Though he has stayed away throughout Percy's life, his deep feelings for his son (and Percy's mother, Sally) are evident."

As usual, the news was announced in tandem with world-class blogger (and "Percy Jackson" author) Rick Riordan making a new post to his website, where he praised the casting choices and gave fans an update on the production process. Filming is currently wrapping up in Vancouver, with months of post-production expected to follow. Could the series arrive before the end of the year? No release date has been officially announced, so let's just keep crossing our fingers.

In the meantime, are you still wondering who will have the honor of inhabiting beauty itself as Aphrodite? Or who will lead the hunt as Artemis? Well, I'm sorry to say that the wait must continue. According to Rick Riordan, this news marks the end of the Percy Jackson casting announcements. The author wrote in his blog post:

"If you haven't seen a particular god or demigod announced, that's because they don't appear in the season and won't be cast until we start the subsequent seasons, which means any of those announcements are probably at least a year away."

As for the future of Percy's adventures, Riordan ended on a mysterious (but positive) note: "More later, demigods, but I am pleased to tell you we are in a very good place as we look ahead to a (not-yet-greenlit-but-fully-anticipated) season two!"