Disney+’s new series, Percy Jackson and the Olympians, concluded with an epic Season 1 finale. Lead actor Walker Scobell recently said he’s hopeful for a second season, so keep reading for everything we know about the next installment of the mythical show featuring Greek gods, demigods, and monsters.
Based on six fantasy novels written by Rick Riordan, the popular middle-grade books are set in a world where Greek gods are in the 21st century. The first season of the Disney+ Original series — adapted from The Lightning Thief — retells the story of Percy Jackson, a 12-year-old demigod who has just discovered his divine powers when the sky god Zeus accuses him of stealing his lightning bolt. Jackson leans on his friends Grover (Aryan Simhadri) and Annabeth (Leah Jeffries) to help find it and restore order to Olympus.
Ahead of the Season 1 finale, which aired on Disney+ on Jan. 30, Scobell revealed in an interview with TV Insider that he’s hopeful the series will continue. He added that he predicts he’ll film more underwater scenes in Season 2, which is a bit nerve-racking for the 15-year-old actor.
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“My last day was all the underwater stuff. In Episode 4, after I fall off the [St. Louis] arch, and then in Episode 6, when I talk to the naiad, that was my last two days, completely underwater,” Scobell said. “Those were really fun, but I’m a little bit nervous for next season because — since I have to keep my eyes open [while filming underwater], on the second day, my eyes really started burning — I’ll probably have to do a week of that.”
Scobell’s co-stars, Leah Sava Jeffries and Aryan Simhadri, also told the platform they’re excited for the new characters in Season 2, including Thalia, Zeus’ “forbidden child,” and the cyclops, Tyson. The trio revealed they’re also looking forward to seeing Dior Goodjohn and Charlie Bushnell‘s roles as Clarisse La Rue and Luke Castellan expand.
Will There Be A Percy Jackson Season 2?
The answer is yes, Disney+ recently renewed Percy Jackson and the Olympians for a second season. The exciting news was announced on Disney’s latest quarterly earnings by CEO Bob Iger. On the call, it was revealed that Season 1 has been streamed for over 110 million hours across both Disney+ and Hulu, per Variety.
The creators of the Disney+ series said their intention was to create five seasons — one for each of the books. The next season of Percy Jackson will explore the second novel, The Sea of Monsters.
The synopsis of The Sea of Monsters reads: “When Thalia’s tree is mysteriously poisoned, the magical borders of Camp Half-Blood begin to fail. Now Percy and his friends have just days to find the only magic item powerful to save the camp before it is overrun by monsters. The catch: they must sail into the Sea of Monsters to find it. Along the way, Percy must stage a daring rescue operation to save his old friend Grover, and he learns a terrible secret about his own family, which makes him question whether being the son of Poseidon is an honor or a curse.”
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Executive producer Jon Steinberg confirmed to Deadline in December 2023 that there have been “discussions” about moving forward with another run. “I think everyone has a real hope that this will live a long and healthy life. Right now, we’re trying to deal with step one. But we’d be lying if we said there weren’t people who are thinking about step two right now,” he said.
Meanwhile, Becky Riordan — who executive produced the series with her husband— told the site that they’ve started outlining the Season 2 “bible” and that she’s looking forward to hopefully revisiting Sea of Monsters.
“Sea of Monsters is one of my favorites. I really love that we’re going to have more time with Grover, so I’m hoping that happens. It will be fabulous, because Aryan [Simhadri, who plays Grover] is amazing actor,” she said.
Who will play Zeus in Percy Jackson Season 2?
Series co-creator Jon Steinberg confirmed that that Zeus’ character will be recast in Season 2 following Lance Reddick’s sudden death last year. Reddick passed away on March 17, 2023, from heart disease, according to CBS News.
“Unfortunately, this is not the first time we’ve had to deal with something like this,” Steinberg explained to Variety. “The way we tried to approach it in the past is that you are both trying to honor his performance and the character that he helped define and create, and also to make space for someone new to do the same thing, and to have some room for their voice to come through as well. It’s difficult to have two different human beings inhabit the same character. But life happens, and sometimes that’s where you are.”
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Steinberg added that they have “time” to recast Zeus, who doesn’t have a major role in Sea of Monsters. “Fortunately, we have a little bit of time. Even once the process gets started, we don’t see Zeus again for a little bit, so we’ll have a minute to try to find the right fit,” he said, noting that the character has not yet been recast.
The showrunner continued: “It’s not ideal, but certainly, I think his mark on that role will be felt with whoever steps into his shoes. It’s a tall order for anybody to try to live up to the performance of somebody else and, like Dan said, step into a family and not be so haunted by the shadow of this person you’re replacing. It’s a weird vibe. I don’t think anybody’s looking forward to that, to be honest, but we’ll do the best we can to make sure that you feel him in whatever that character is moving forward.”
Stream the first season of Percy Jackson and the Olympians on Disney+.
