Keeping it in the Disney family, Lin-Manuel Miranda has joined the cast of the upcoming Disney+ series, “Percy Jackson and the Olympians.”
The Details
Lin-Manuel Miranda, who is a fan of the “Percy Jackson” books along with his son, will play the god Hermes.
Per the character’s official description, Hermes is “the messenger god who looks out for travelers and thieves, and is a bit of a trickster himself.
He is charismatic and boisterous, the life of the party. Unfortunately, his charm does not do much to heal his strained relationship with his son Luke (Charlie Bushnell). He’s also hesitant to help Percy and his friends on their quest as sometimes getting involved is more trouble than it’s worth.”
Fans of the books may wonder why Hermes is in the series so early when in the books, he doesn’t show up until the second book, “The Sea of Monsters.”
Author Rick Riordan explains: Now you book fans may be thinking, “Wait a minute. Hermes doesn’t appear until the second book, The Sea of Monsters.” You are correct. But remember when I told you we are adding new glimpses of backstory, Easter eggs, and other nuances to enhance the narrative while remaining true to the original storyline? This is a prime example. When you see the episode in question, it will make sense why we introduced Hermes early.”
“Once we’d written the script and had Hermes’ lines, I could not get Lin-Manuel Miranda’s voice out of my head. I knew he would be the perfect person to bring Hermes to life in all his complex glory. I figured it was a long shot. Lin-Manuel is a busy guy! But with our show runners’ encouragement, I sent him a note saying, “Hey, you ever felt like being a god for a couple of days?” To my delight, he was excited to join the Percy Jackson family.”
The Series
“Percy Jackson and the Olympians,” based on the book series by Riordan, tells the story of a 12-year-old modern demigod, Percy Jackson (Walter Scobell), who is just coming to terms with his newfound divine powers when the sky god Zeus accuses him of stealing his master lightning bolt.
With help from his friends Grover (Aryan Simhadri) and Annabeth (Leah Sava Jeffries), Percy must embark on an adventure of a lifetime to find it and restore order to Olympus.
The guest star cast also includes Virginia Kull as Percy’s mother Sally; Glynn Turman as the centaur Chiron; Megan Mullally as Percy’s math teacher Mrs. Dodds (aka Alecto); Jason Mantzoukas as camp counselor Mr. D; Timm Sharp as Percy’s stepfather Gabe Ugliano; Cryer as Echidna. The Mother of Monsters; Jessica Parker Kennedy as Medusa; Adam Copeland as Ares, the God of War; and Dior Goodjohn as Ares’ daughter Clarisse.
Riordan and Jon Steinberg are writing the pilot with James Bobin directing.
The series is currently shooting in Vancouver, B.C., Canada, and will air on Disney+ sometime in 2024.
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