As we get ready for the new season of Percy Jackson and the Olympians arriving in the 2025 TV schedule next week, there’s a lot of new casting to get excited for, but a notable one is rather bittersweet. Following the death of Lance Reddick back in 2023, the series was tasked with recasting the role of Zeus. It was announced that Courtney B. Vance would take over the role about a year ago, and now the actor has now gotten candid about doing so.
At the Los Angeles premiere for Season 2 of Percy Jackson and the Olympians, Vance shared his thoughts on taking over the role on the blue carpet. In his words to Deadline:
I didn’t want to have to come into a project under those circumstances. And the first thing I did, before I began, I just thanked everybody and we prayed. So, that meant a lot for everyone. I don’t take it lightly. I would rather not be here, and have him be here. But they embraced me, and I honored him with them. So, it was a really wonderful moment.
Apparently, when Courtney B. Vance arrived at the set of Percy Jackson, he came prepared with a speech for the cast and crew to honor Lance Reddick. Previously, executive producer Craig Silverstein detailed that Vance got emotional as he talked about the “responsibility” associated with “stepping into the shoes of that performance.”
Rick Riordan, who is the author behind all the Percy Jackson books and a co-creator on the series, called Courtney B. Vance “incredible” in the role and “the right person at the right time.” Zeus isn’t a main cast member in the Disney+ series, but he is a powerful presence in the series as the King of the Gods. In the first season of Percy Jackson, Reddick debuted the role in the finale “The Prophecy Comes True,” when Percy journeys to Olympus to return Zeus’s Master Bolt, which was stolen.
We don’t currently know what episode Courtney B. Vance will debut as Zeus in Season 2 of Percy Jackson and the Olympians, but his daughter Thalia will be introduced during the season. We’ve already seen a first look at Thalia in the latest trailer, who is set to be played by Tamara Smart. As we learned in the first season of Percy Jackson, Thalia sacrificed her life to save some of the other demigods of Camp Half-Blood, and Zeus saved her by placing her soul inside a tree at its entrance.
Other new additions to the series include Daniel Diemer playing a Cyclops named Tyson, Andra Day as Athena (Annabeth’s mom), Margaret Cho, Kristen Schaal, and Sandra Bernhard playing the Gray Sisters, and Rosemarie DeWitt as Circe.
Percy Jackson and the Olympians Season 2 is an adaptation of the second book, Sea of Monsters. The first two episodes will premiere on December 10 on both Disney+ and Hulu, with new episodes premiering weekly.