Percy Jackson and The Olympians executive producer Jon Steinberg addresses the challenge of recasting Zeus for season 2 after Lance Reddick’s passing.
Percy Jackson and The Olympians may be returning for season 2, but the show’s creative team is not yet ready to recast the role of Zeus. Based on the best-selling book series by Rick Riordan, the season 1 finale of the Disney+ show featured a scene that saw Walker Scobell’s titular demigod come face-to-face with Zeus himself, played by John Wick vet Lance Reddick. Serving as one of Reddick’s final onscreen roles, the actor passed away in March 2023 before he ever got a chance to see the overwhelmingly positive response to the show.
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Screen Rant recently attended the official TCA panel for Percy Jackson and The Olympians, where executive producer and showrunner Jon Steinberg broached the subject of recasting Reddick for the recently announced season 2. Suggesting that he doesn’t “think anybody’s there yet,” he admitted that there is still a certain degree of denial among the show’s creative team concerning Reddick’s passing. Instead, he praised the late actor’s work in crafting the character and does not envy whoever is selected as his successor. Check out his comments below:
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I don’t think anybody’s there yet. There’s also just a little bit of denial, I think. That’s something that we’re gonna have to deal with. But we’re incredibly grateful for this character that he helped build and the presence that he created. I do not envy whoever has to step into his shoes.
Could Percy Jackson Season 2 Avoid Recasting Zeus?
As the King of the Gods and the brother of Percy’s divine father, Poseidon, Zeus features in each of the five novels that comprise Riordan’s original Percy Jackson series. While his direct appearances may be limited, his presence always continues to loom large over the various quests and adventures that Percy finds himself involved in. As such, many would expect that Steinberg and his fellow showrunner Dan Shotz would be faced with no choice but to recast the role for Percy Jackson and The Olympians season 2.
However, the previous movie adaptations of Riordan’s novels could also point toward another solution as the show heads into adapting the 2006 book The Sea of Monsters. Prior to Scobell tackling the role of Poseidon’s tenacious half-blood son, Logan Lerman would star in 2010’s Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Lightning Thief opposite Game of Thrones’ Sean Bean as the King of Olympus. Yet, while Bean was originally expected to return for 2013’s Percy Jackson: Sea of Monsters, the actor was notably absent from the sequel when it was eventually released.
Given the aloof and often fickle nature of the Olympians, it is possible that the Disney+ show could look to follow suit for their own Sea of Monsters adaptation and elect to only refer to Zeus by name, without ever actually showing him in person. While it may be necessary to recast the role of Zeus should the show continue beyond season 2, such a move could allow the show’s creative team the time they need to better come to grips with Reddick’s passing, and find a suitable replacement for a potential Percy Jackson and The Olympians season 3 instead.