Now that the Percy Jackson Disney Plus show has officially started production, the Powers That Be are finally revealing some of recurring and guest characters who will be joining Walker Scobell as Percy Jackson, Leah Sava Jeffries as Annabeth and Aryan Simhadri as Grover Underwood. Dior Goodjohn, Olivea Morton, and Charlie Bushnell have joined the series as Clarisse La Rue, Nancy Bobofit, and Luke Castellan respectively.
In addition to the three main characters, five other character announcements have been made. The roles of Sally Jackson, Chiron, Dionysius, Alecto/Mrs Dodds and Gabe Ugliano have already been cast in recurring and guest roles and now three younger characters – Clarisse La Rue, Percy’s enemy-turned-ally (in later books); Nancy Bobofit, the human girl who bullies Percy and Grover mercilessly; and Luke Castellan, Percy’s friend-turned-traitor and Annabeth’s childhood friend and crush – have been cast.
Goodjohn and Bushnell, who play Clarisse La Rue and Luke Castellan, have been cast in recurring roles and Morton, who plays Nancy Bobofit, has a guest role, presumably for the first episode only. The characters of La Rue and Castellan appear multiple times over the course of the book, Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief, and both play prominent roles in the next four books in the series. If the Percy Jackson Disney Plus show gets greenlit for more seasons and subsequently tells the story of the rest of the books, it stands to reason that viewers will see more of Goodjohn and Bushnell in future seasons.
The Disney+ series is based on Rick Riordan’s Percy Jackson book series. This season adapts the first book of the series, telling the story of the titular 12-year-old modern demigod, son of Poseidon (Scobell), who has just discovered his true heritage and identity when the sky god Zeus accuses him of stealing his master lightning bolt. With help from his friends Grover (Simhadri) and Annabeth (Jeffries), Percy goes on a quest to retrieve Zeus’ lightning bolt and prevent war between the gods.
Production on the show is now underway in Vancouver. Riordan himself, the author of the Percy Jackson book series, and Jon Steinberg are writing the pilot with James Bobin directing. Steinberg and his producing partner Dan Shotz serve as executive producers alongside Bobin, Rick Riordan, Rebecca Riordan (Rick’s wife), Bert Salke, Monica Owusu-Breen, Jim Rowe, Anders Engström, Jet Wilkinson, and Gotham Group’s Ellen Goldsmith-Vein, Jeremy Bell, and D.J. Goldberg. With production having started on June 2, the show will most likely air some time in 2023.