The “Percy Jackson and the Olympians” series at Disney+ has added Lance Reddick and Toby Stephens to its cast as two major gods, Variety has learned exclusively.
Reddick will guest star as Zeus, while Stephens will guest star as Poseidon. The pair will appear in the series alongside Walker Scobell as Percy as well as Aryan Simhadri as Grover and Leah Sava Jeffries as Annabeth.
Additional cast members include Virginia Kull, Glynn Turman, Jason Mantzoukas, Megan Mullally and Timm Sharp as well as Dior Goodjohn, Olivea Morton, Charlie Bushnell, Adam Copeland, Suzanne Cryer, Jessica Parker Kennedy, Lin-Manuel Miranda, Timothy Omundsen, and Jay Duplass.
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Poseidon is the god of the sea and Percy’s father. 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.
Zeus is described as “The all-powerful god of the sky and leader of Mount Olympus, Zeus is tempestuous and mistrustful. He’s promised to wage a war if his stolen thunderbolt is not returned.”
Reddick is best known for his starring role in the hit HBO series “The Wire” as well as his role as Charon in the “John Wick” film franchise. His recent credits include the “Resident Evil” series at Netflix and a seven-season run on the Amazon police drama “Bosch.” His other film credits include “One Night in Miami,” “Angel Has Fallen,” and “Godzilla vs. Kong.” He has also lent his voice to several popular video games like “Destiny 2” and “Horizon Zero Dawn.”
He is repped by CAA, Grandview, and attorney James E. Hornstein.
Stephens has recently starred in shows like the second season of “Alex Rider” at Amazon, the reboot of “Lost in Space” at Netflix, and the Starz historical drama “Black Sails.” He has also starred in films like “Hunter Killer,” “13 Hours,” and the James Bond film “Die Another Day.” He would later voice Bond in a number of BBC Radio productions based on Ian Fleming’s novels like “Dr. No,” “Goldfinger,” and “Diamonds Are Forever.”
He is repped by United Agents and Gersh.
Based on the Rick Riordan book series of the same name, “Percy Jackson and the Olympians” follows the titular 12-year old demi-god as he is “just coming to terms with his newfound divine powers when the sky god Zeus accuses him of stealing his master lightning bolt,” the logline states. “With help from his friends Grover and Annabeth, Percy must embark on an adventure of a lifetime to find it and restore order to Olympus.”
The Disney Branded Television series is currently in production in Vancouver. Riordan and Jon Steinberg are writing the pilot with James Bobin directing. Steinberg and his producing partner Dan Shotz are overseeing the series and serve as executive producers alongside Bobin, Rick Riordan, Rebecca Riordan, Bert Salke, Monica Owusu-Breen, Jim Rowe, Anders Engström, Jet Wilkinson, and Gotham Group’s Ellen Goldsmith-Vein, Jeremy Bell, and D.J. Goldberg. 20th Television is the studio.
