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San Diego Comic-Con’s Hall H turned into Camp Half-Blood during the “Percy Jackson and the Olympians” panel on Thursday.
Cast members Walker Scobell, Leah Sava Jeffries, Aryan Simhadri, Virginia Kull, Adam Copeland, and co-showrunners Dan Shotz and Jonathan E. Steinberg were on hand for the panel. Jay Duplass, who plays Hades on the show, moderated the discussion.
Rick Riordan, who wrote the popular YA novels, couldn’t come to Comic-Con in person, but he sent along a video message and announced that Daniel Diemer will play Tyson, Percy’s half-brother and a cyclops, in Season 2.
“As some of you may know, in ‘Sea of Monsters’ we meet an important new character. He’s shy, awkward and endearing,” Riordan said, revealing Diemer as Tyson. “His enthusiasm and talent bring a whole new dimension to Tyson.”
Tyson is an important new character in Riordan’s novel “Sea of Monsters,” which will be the basis of Season 2. He’s previously starred in “Under the Bridge,” “The Midnight Club,” “The Man in the High Castle” and more. He also stands at 6’4”, making him a towering older half-brother to Percy.
“Thank you so much, Rick, for the warm welcome,” Diemer said in a video that played to the Hall H crowd. “I’m thrilled and honored to step into the universe of ‘Percy Jackson.’ I’ve been a fan of the books since I was 10 years old. I can’t wait to bring Tyson to life and introduce him to you all.”
After a sizzle reel kicked off the panel, the young stars Scobell, Jeffries and Simhadri reminisced on their favorite memories from shooting Season 1, including Scobell pranking Duplass with firecrackers and battling Copeland’s god of war Ares. Simhadri joked that after training to walk as the satyr Grover, a half-goat-half-teen, he couldn’t stop it when he was home.
“‘Aryan, walk normally. You’re not on set anymore,” he recalled his mom telling him after Season 1.
Steinberg teased that Season 2 will be “very wet” and have “some new friend we’re going to make.” Jeffries also said that the cast’s “best work” is yet to come in the sophomore season.
“I wanted to make sure I played Annabeth so well that you wouldn’t know I’m not Annabeth when we say cut,” Jeffries said on the panel. “I’m so grateful I get to play this part because I’ve never played someone like this before. For what’s to come, we’re gonna show you guys so much more of what we can do. We are all going to show our best work in this new stuff. I love you guys so much for me to not give it my all.”
“Percy Jackson” debuted on Disney+ on Dec. 19, 2023, and finished its eight-episode first season on Jan. 30, 2024. It brought to life the popular young adult book series by author Riordan, who co-created the TV show with Steinberg.
“The Adam Project” star Scobell took on the role of young demigod Percy Jackson, a son of the Greek god Poseidon who goes on a cross-country adventure and faces off against mythic creatures. His was joined by his friends Annabeth, a daughter of the goddess Athena played by Jeffries, and Grover Underwood, a satyr played by Simhadri. The gang meets at Camp Half-Blood, a summer camp for children of gods, and embarks on a quest to find Zeus’ missing thunderbolt in order to restore order to Olympus.
The other Greek gods included Jason Mantzoukas as Dionysus, the god of wine and the head counselor at Camp Half-Blood; Copeland as Ares, the rugged god of war and a biker; Lin-Manuel Miranda as Hermes, the messenger god; Duplass as Hades, the god of the underworld; Toby Stephens as Poseidon, Percy’s estranged father and the god of the seas; and the late Lance Reddick as Zeus; the king of Olympus. Other cast members included Kull as Percy’s mom; Megan Mullally as Alecto, one of the winged Furies who serves Hades; Dior Goodjohn as Clarisse La Rue; and Charlie Bushnell as Luke Castellan.
