Courtney B. Vance Joins 'Percy Jackson And The Olympians' Cast, Honoring Lance Reddick's Legacy
Season 2 of ‘Percy Jackson and the Olympians’ is currently in production, with Tony Award and 2x Emmy Award winner Courtney B. Vance taking on the role of Zeus. This recast comes after the untimely passing of the beloved actor, Lance Reddick, who passed shortly after the first season. Vance says of his new role, “I know that stepping into this role of Zeus will be a memorable experience and I’ll be giving my brother, Lance Reddick, who left us way too soon, a heavenly hug.”
‘Percy Jackson and the Olympians’ debuted in December 2023 on Disney+. The TV series, co-created by Rick Riordan and Jonathan E. Steinberg, is based on Rick Riordan's book series of the same name. In the series, Zeus is both the Greek god of the sky and the father of Thalia Grace (Tamara Smart). During the first season, Zeus accuses protagonist Percy (Walker Scobell) of stealing his master lightning bolt. Percy enlists the help of his friends Annabeth (Leah Sava Jeffries) and Grover (Aryan Simhadri) on a nationwide search to find the bolt and restore order to Olympus before a war between the gods ensues.
Season 2 of the series, titled ‘The Sea of Monsters,’ is based on the second installment of Rick Riordan’s book series. In this season, Percy returns to Camp Half-Blood a year after his quest only to find his world in turmoil. He then embarks on a new journey to restore order, venturing beyond the map and into the deadly Sea of Monsters where his fate awaits him.
Additional cast members joining Season 2 include Andra Day, Daniel Diemer, and Timothy Simons. Executive producers include Jonathan E. Steinberg, Dan Shotz, Rick and Rebecca Riordan, Craig Silverstein, Ellen Goldsmith-Vein, Jeremy Bell, D.J. Goldberg, Bert Salke, James Bobin, Jim Rowe, Albert Kim, Jason Ensler, and Sarah Watson.
Courtney B. Vance brings an impressive range of talent to this season. He stars in Race to Freedom: The Underground Railroad (1994), The Tuskegee Airmen (1995), The Preacher’s Wife (1996), Naked City: Justice with a Bullet (1998), Hurricane Season (2009), Terminator Genisys (2015), The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks (2017), Project Power (2020), Lovecraft Country (2020), 61st Street (2022), Heist 88 (2023), Grotesquerie (2024), and many more.
Vance started his career in theater, making his Broadway debut in August Wilson’s Fences (1985). He later appeared in John Guare’s Six Degrees of Separation (1990) and Nora Ephron’s Lucky Guy (2013). In 2013, he won a Tony Award for Best Featured Actor in a Play for his role in Lucky Guy (2013). In 2016, he won an Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor In A Limited Series for his role in The People v. O.J. Simpson: American Crime Story (2016). In 2021 he won another Emmy Award for Outstanding Guest Actor In A Drama Series for his role in Lovecraft Country (2020).
Vance and wife, Academy Award winner Angela Bassett, founded their production company, Bassett Vance Productions, to amplify the voices of creators and develop projects that are diverse, thought-provoking, and told through a contemporary lens.
Vance’s inclusion in ‘Percy Jackson and the Olympians’ represents a significant milestone for the series, as the production team pays tribute to Lance Reddick’s legacy. Season 2 is set to debut in 2025.
—Dominique Young
