Percy Jackson and the Olympians series casts The Adam Project actor Walker Scobell in titular role

The Percy Jackson and Olympian series, set at Disney+, has found its titular hero in Walker Scobell of The Adam Project-fame. 

The announcement was made by Percy Jackson author Rick Riordan, who is also the show’s executive producer, on his website.

“Walker Scobell is an incredibly talented young man who blew us away with his audition tapes for the role of Percy,” wrote Riordan. He added that Scobell had auditioned before his debut The Adam Project, but his performance in the sci-fi movie “only confirmed what we already knew about his talent.”

Riordan further wrote that Scobell has the “perfect mix of comedic timing, sweetness, rebelliousness, snark and heroism to embody our hero Percy Jackson.” 

Scobell’ debut The Adam Project (streaming on Netflix) revolves on a time-traveling fighter pilot (Ryan Reynolds) who must keep up with his younger self (Scobell) in order to preserve the future. 

Jennifer Garner, Mark Ruffalo, Zoe Saldaa, and Catherine Keener also star in supporting roles.

The Disney+ series was announced in January, and will focus on Percy, a demigod, who is still coming to terms with his new powers. When the sky deity Zeus accuses him of stealing his master lightning bolt, the titular 12-year-old contemporary demigod is only beginning to comprehend his surprising superhuman skills. Percy must now explore all of America for it and bring order to Olympus.

Riordan and Jon Steinberg are writing the pilot for Percy Jackson and the Olympians, which will be directed by James Bobin. Steinberg and his producing partner Dan Shotz are executive producers on the series alongside Bobin, Riordan, Rebecca Riordan, Bert Salke, Monica Owusu-Breen, Jim Rowe, and Gotham Group's Ellen Goldsmith-Vein, Jeremy Bell, and D.J. Goldberg. 20th Television is the name of the studio. 

The Percy Jackson series includes the books The Lightning Thief, The Sea of Monsters, The Titan's Curse, The Battle in the Labyrinth, and The Last Olympian. The Demigod Files and The Demigod Diaries, which are companion volumes to The Demigod, also authored by Riordan.

Lightning Thief and Sea of Monsters have both been adapted into feature films with Logan Lerman in the titular role. The two films received mixed reviews from critics, but went on to gross over $425 million worldwide. Lightning Thief and Sea of Monsters are streaming on Disney+ Hotstar in India.

Meanwhile, Scobell will next be seen in the Paramount thriller Secret Headquarters, also starring Owen Wilson.