Percy Jackson Recasts Zeus: Courtney B. Vance to Succeed the Late Lance Reddick in Season 2
Percy Jackson and the Olympians has tapped Courtney B. Vance to replace the late Lance Reddick as Zeus in Season 2 of the Disney+ adaptation, TVLine has learned.
The news follows the streamer’s first footage of the upcoming episodes, which are being eyed for a 2025 release. The forthcoming installment will tackle The Sea of Monsters, the second book in Rick Riordan’s beloved franchise.
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“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,” executive producer Dan Shotz said in a statement. “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.”
In Season 2, Percy “returns to Camp Half-Blood one year later to find his world turned upside down,” reads the official logline. “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.”
Season 1 ended with Reddick embodying god-like vibrato as Zeus conversed with Percy — the sky god nearly striking his nephew out of existence while the demigod implied there was a weakness in the family. Zeus only stopped when his brother Poseidon intervened and offered his surrender. At the conclusion of the episode, the series paid tribute to the late actor, with a title card that read, “In loving memory of Lance Reddick.”
Shotz previously told TVLine that he was “unbelievably grateful that [Lance] got to play Zeus, and that the world is going to get to see him as Zeus — as the most powerful being in the world — because he deserved that. We think about him a lot.”
Vance (whose other TV credits include Grotesquerie, The People vs. O.J. Simpson: American Crime Story, 61st Street and Law & Order: Criminal Intent) will join series stars Walker Scobell as Percy, Aryan Simhadri as Grover and Leah Sava Jeffries as Annabeth. Season 2 will also see The Midnight Club’s Daniel Diemer as Tyson, a cyclops and Percy’s half-brother.
Variety was first to report the news.
Thoughts on Vance stepping in for Reddick? Drop some comments below.
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