Fan castings are always a staple of online chatter when a beloved book is to be adapted for TV or film. But what is more interesting is hearing who the established actors would like to see work on the project with them. Such is the case with the cast of the Percy Jackson television series. The show was one of the most anticipated Disney+ shows to come out recently; it has already been renewed for Season 2 and the cast has some ideas for who they'd like to see come on board.
After the release of Season 1, the three teen stars, Walker Scobell, Leah Sava Jeffries, and Aryan Simhadri discussed who they would like to see cast as some of the remaining Olympians in Season 2, at the Television Critics Association Panel (via ET). It was clear the three had discussed this before, because Jeffries, who plays Annabeth Chase, daughter of Athena, had an immediate answer as to who she wanted to play the goddess of wisdom.
Zendaya as Athena.
The immediate question might be: Is the 27-year-old Dune actress is old enough to be playing the mother of a teenager? But these are the immortal Greek gods we are talking about here, who have the ability to appear however young or old they would like to be. But after seeing Challengers, in which Zendaya transitions between an 18 and 30-year-old version of her character flawlessly, and with the same stern, confident demeanor as Athena, I have no worries.
Walker Scobell, who plays Percy Jackson himself, also mentioned his own fan casting for Apollo, the sun god.
I was watching The Hunger Games recently and I thought Sam Claflin would be a cool Apollo.
As someone who read Percy Jackson when Catching Fire was released in 2013, I can alsototally see where Scobell is making this connection. The character Finnick Odair, played by Claflin, radiates the same cocky yet charming attitude as Apollo does in Rick Riordan’s book series.
Both the Enola Holmes actor and Euphoria actress are on hot streaks right now in Hollywood, the latter especially, so it might be difficult to sign them onto this project. But Percy Jackson is a popular show right now with a younger audience. Zendaya’s recent projects like Challengers and Dune are more mature content. Riordan’s YA fan favorite would allow her to tap into the younger fanbase she obtained with Marvel’s Tom Holland Spider-man franchise.
Besides, now that it’s been mentioned, I need to see Zendaya and Sam Claflin on the same screen, and catching Percy Jackson Season 2 with my Disney+ subscription is the perfect opportunity. Uncle Rick, make this happen!
