Courtney B. Vance has joined the cast of “Percy Jackson and the Olympians” as Zeus. The role was originally played by Lance Reddick, who died at age 60 shortly after production wrapped on Season 1.
Zeus is the Greek god of the sky and the father of demigod Thalia Grace (recently announced cast member Tamara Smart). In Season 1, Reddick’s Zeus accused Percy (Walker Scobell) of stealing his master lightning bolt, which sent Percy and his friends Annabeth (Leah Sava Jeffries) and Grover (Aryan Simhadri) on a nationwide quest to find it and stop a war between the gods.
Vance is best known for films like “The Hunt for Red October,” “The Preacher’s Wife” and “The Adventures of Huck Finn” as well as TV series including NBC’s “Law & Order: Criminal Intent,” in which he played Ron Carver, and FX’s “The People vs. OJ Simpson: American Crime Story,” in which he played Johnnie Cochrane. Among his more recent credits are HBO’s “Lovecraft Country,” AMC’s “61st Street” and FX’s “Grotesquerie.” On Broadway, Vance originated the role of Cory in August Wilson’s “Fences,” and in 2013, he won a Tony for playing Hap Hairston in Nora Ephron’s “Lucky Guy.” He is repped by Yasmine Pearl at UTA and Darrell Miller at Fox Rothschild.
Season 2 of “Percy Jackson” will be based on “The Sea of Monsters,” the second installation in Rick Riordan’s book series. Per the official logline, Percy “returns to Camp Half-Blood one year later to find his world turned upside down. His friendship with Annabeth is changing, he learns he has a cyclops for a brother, Grover has gone missing and camp is under siege from the forces of Kronos. Percy’s journey to set things right will take him off the map and into the deadly Sea of Monsters, where a secret fate awaits the son of Poseidon.”
Along with Vance and Smart, new cast members joining Season 2 include Andra Day as Athena, Daniel Diemer as Tyson and Timothy Simons as Tantalus.
Riordan co-created the “Percy Jackson” TV series alongside Jonathan E. Steinberg, who serves as co-showrunner with Dan Shotz. Executive producers include Steinberg and Shotz; Riordan and his wife Rebecca Riordan; Craig Silverstein; The Gotham Group’s Ellen Goldsmith-Vein, Jeremy Bell and D.J. Goldberg; Bert Salke; James Bobin; Jim Rowe; Albert Kim; Jason Ensler; and Sarah Watson. The series hails from Disney Branded Television and 20th Television. Season 2 is currently in production and set to debut in 2025.
“I can’t tell you how excited I am to join the extraordinary cast of ‘Percy Jackson and the Olympians!’” Vance said in a statement. “There are few moments in an actor’s career when you can honestly say that you’re about to board a series that has such a devoted fan base filled with characters beloved around the world and is based on a wildly successful book series. I know that stepping into this role of Zeus will be a memorable experience and I’ll be giving my brother, Lance Reddick, who left us way too soon, a heavenly hug.”
“We are so excited and fortunate to have Courtney B. Vance join us as the King of Olympus — it is truly a gift from the gods!” said Riordan.
Shotz added, “The day we lost Lance Reddick, we lost an icon. Getting to work with this fierce and gentle talent in one of his last roles as Zeus in ‘Percy Jackson and the Olympians’ was truly awe-inspiring. I felt so fortunate to watch this man stand tall on Mt. Olympus, but more importantly I felt lucky to be able to call him a friend. Finding someone to step into this role going forward was not an easy task, but when icon Courtney B. Vance answered the call, we knew the Gods were listening. This legend of cinema not only wanted to honor the books, but wanted to honor Lance’s legacy. We can’t wait for you all to see him take the throne.”
