Since Disney first announced a Percy Jackson and the Olympians TV series, fans have been eager to find out who will play their favorite book characters on the small screen. Today, we have a big answer. Everyone, meet Walker Scobell, your new Percy Jackson!
PJO author Rick Riordan announced Scobell’s casting on his blog today, saying the young actor blew them away with his audition tapes.
“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.” said Riordan in his post.
Fans of the recent Netflix feature The Adam Project will recognize Scobell. He played the younger version of Ryan Reynold’s character in the time travel film.
According to Riordan, Scobell had auditioned for Percy Jackson before The Adam Project came out. The PJO team has actually kept his casting under wraps for a while now; Riordan says they offered Scobell the role back on January 28.
Riordan describes Scobell as a “super-fan of the books.” (No doubt something fellow super-fans will be happy to hear!)
“He already owns a Camp Half-Blood T-shirt…” added Riordan. “He had no idea I was going to be on this Zoom call. He didn’t know the call was to tell him he got the part. The shirt was just him repping his love for the series, and that look of surprise is totally genuine.”
Riordan said the Percy Jackson team wasn’t ready to announce Scobell’s co-leads, Annabeth and Grover, just yet. However, he teased these roles “are getting very close to being finalized and announced.”
“[Walker] is going to surpass your highest expectations from the very first line of the show,” promised Riordan.
So, Camp Half-Blood, how does it feel to meet your new Percy? Are you excited for the Disney+ series? Let us know in the comments below.
Source: Rick Riordan blog
