‘Percy Jackson’ Actor Removed After Growing Too Tall, Director Confirms Replacement - Inside the Magic (2024)

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Percy Jackson actor Walker Scobell was officially replaced after growing too tall.

A faithful, entertainingPercy Jacksonadaptation has been a long coming, but fortunately, it arrived on the silver screen with a splash in 2023.

‘Percy Jackson’ Actor Removed After Growing Too Tall, Director Confirms Replacement - Inside the Magic (2)

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Gone are the days of needlessly aged-up Demigods and strange plot choices (don’t worry, Logan Lerman – you weren’t the problem in our eyes). Unlike the 2010 film adaptation by 20th Century Studios, the Disney+ televised series takes things slow enough to immerse guests in the world of Percy Jackson and friends while also keeping them hooked on the preteen’s adventures in his newly discovered world of gods and monsters.

This time around, Percy Jackson is portrayed by Walker Scobell. The young actor has been praised extensively by critics for his take on the 12-year-old boy from New York who embarks upon a dangerous quest after discovering that his biological father is the sea god Poseidon – AKA one of the 12 Olympian godsin Greek mythology.

‘Percy Jackson’ Actor Removed After Growing Too Tall, Director Confirms Replacement - Inside the Magic (3)

Over the course of the show’s first season, Scobell managed the not-so-easy task of nailing both Percy Jackson’s sassy wit (a trademark of the original author, Rick Riordan’s, writing style) and the character’s more emotional moments. The one thing that audiences did pick out was something beyond Scobell’s control: his height.

As is eventually the case with all child actors, Scobell – just like his costars Leah Sava Jeffries (Annabeth Chase) and Aryan Simhadri (Grover Underwood) – has changed a lot over the past few years. Percy Jackson and the Olympians fans couldn’t help but notice the physical differences between Scobell in the show’s first episode versus the last. According to Teen Vogue, Scobell grew six inches in nine months.

Puberty is an obstacle all long-term projects involving child actors must tackle. A similar instance is Daniel Radcliffe, whose voice changed so much during the filming of Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone(2001) that an audio double was (allegedly) brought in to dub his lines in the movie’s last few scenes.

‘Percy Jackson’ Actor Removed After Growing Too Tall, Director Confirms Replacement - Inside the Magic (4)

Fortunately, ifPercy Jackson and the Olympians – which recently started filming its second season in Vancouver – is following the same timeline as Rick Riordan’s original book series, a canonical year will have passed between the first and second seasons, meaning an audio replacement isn’t necessary for continuation purposes.

That’s the good news. The bad news, however, is that Scobell did reportedly lose another high-profile role due to the rapid changes to his height and voice.

According to Shawn Levy – director ofDeadpool & Wolverine(2024), the latest Marvel Cinematic Universe smash hit that’s currently on the cusp of breaking a billion at the box office – Scobell was supposed to star in the superhero flick as Kidpool, one of the film’s many Deadpool variants, but had to be axed.

‘Percy Jackson’ Actor Removed After Growing Too Tall, Director Confirms Replacement - Inside the Magic (5)

“If Walker Scobell had stopped evolving right before puberty, he absolutely would’ve been Kidpool,” Levy told Entertainment Weekly, confirming that they were forced to replace the young actor.

“It was his dream. Ryan and I reached out to him once we realized he was now going to be too old, both too tall and with his voice too low. Puberty is what it is, and all the Hollywood dreams in the world can’t stop it. So we did call Walker and explain why he couldn’t be Kidpool, and he was completely understanding.”

Had Scobell played Kidpool, this would’ve marked the second time that he portrayed another version of a character originated by Ryan Reynolds. The duo previously starred as the same character at two different ages in Netflix’s The Adam Project (2022), which was also directed by Levy.

Notably, The Adam Projectalso starred Jennifer Garner as Ellie Reed, the title character’s mother. Garner appeared inDeadpool & Wolverine as the assassin Elektra Natchios, a role Garner last portrayed in Elektra (2005).

‘Percy Jackson’ Actor Removed After Growing Too Tall, Director Confirms Replacement - Inside the Magic (6)

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While Scobell may not have got his Marvel moment (not yet, at least), the role of Kidpool did go to another worthy candidate. The youthful version of the “merc with a mouth” was instead voiced by Inez Reynolds, the seven-year-old daughter of Reynolds and his wife, Blake Lively.

The pair’s baby, Olin Reynolds, also starred in the film as an even younger variant of Deadpool, fittingly known as Babypool. Meanwhile, four-year-old Betty Reynolds was credited as “Hugh Jackman Wrangler” in the film’s credits, and nine-year-old James Reynolds is credited as playing a Screaming Mutant.

Would you have liked to see Walker Scobell appear in Deadpool & Wolverine?

‘Percy Jackson’ Actor Removed After Growing Too Tall, Director Confirms Replacement - Inside the Magic (2024)

FAQs

Why did they change the Percy Jackson actor? ›

So, Walker Scobell (currently 14 years old) was eligible to be cast because he was in the right age range for the part. Logan Lerman on the other hand is 31, and too old to play Percy Jackson in the rebooted project.

Who is the new Percy Jackson guy? ›

Walker Scobell plays Percy Jackson, the titular hero of the series and son of Poseidon. Fans first met the new Percy Jackson in April 2022, when Riordan announced on his website that Walker Scobell had been cast in the role.

Who plays Augustus in Percy Jackson? ›

No, Augustus is not portrayed by Mark Hamill despite their striking resemblance. Percy Jackson's Augustus is played by Canadian actor and playwright Ted Dykstra.

Who plays Medusa in the Percy Jackson series? ›

Percy Jackson and the Olympians (TV Series 2023– ) - Jessica Parker Kennedy as Medusa - IMDb.

Will Disney recast Zeus? ›

Series co-creator Jon Steinberg confirmed that that Zeus' character will be recast in Season 2 following Lance Reddick's sudden death last year. Reddick passed away on March 17, 2023, from heart disease, according to CBS News.

Why did they cancel Percy Jackson? ›

Summary. Percy Jackson movies disappointed fans and performed poorly at the box office, leading to the abandonment of Percy Jackson 3. The Percy Jackson TV show on Disney+ offers a chance for a faithful adaptation of the books, with the author's involvement ensuring a true-to-source material approach.

Who does Percy Jackson marry? ›

Annabeth Jackson (Nee Chase) is the demigod daughter of Athena and Frederick Chase. She is the girlfriend and later on wife to Percy Jackson, and the mother to four kids: Cast, Ethan, Zoe and Violet Jackson. She is currently working as an architect.

Who is Percy Jackson's girlfriend? ›

Annabeth Chase

Demigod daughter of Athena. Girlfriend of Percy Jackson. If you're stuck in Tartarus, she's the one you want on your team.

Who is Percy Jackson's half sister? ›

Estelle Beau (born Blofis) (2010-present) is a mortal girl born to Paul and Sally Blofis. She is the half-sister to Percy Jackson.

Does Percy Jackson have a boyfriend? ›

Percy Jackson and the Staff of Hermes

It is confirmed that they are dating. Percy forgets their one month anniversary.

Who is Hazel's boyfriend in Percy Jackson? ›

Hazel's current love interest is Frank Zhang. The two are shown to be good friends in The Hero's Of Olympus and are shown to have feelings for each other, though secretly. As the two take off on the quest to Alaska with Percy, Frank reveals that he knows of Hazel's secret that she came back from the dead.

Is Apollo Percy's cousin? ›

First off, Percy is Athena's, Hephaestus's, Apollo's, and Artemis's Cousin. So He's technically Annabeth's First Cousin or just Uncle, in simpler terms. Leo and Annabeth are Cousins, and Frank is a distant descendent of Percy's half-brother while also being his first cousin once removed.

Is Athena a Virgin Goddess in Percy Jackson? ›

One of the reasons she became a virgin was to avoid having a fate similar to her mother, Metis. Even though she is a virgin goddess, Athena has demigod children, who are born from her own thoughts combined with the thoughts of mortal men she loves.

Who is Jason's sister Percy Jackson? ›

Thalia Grace is a fictional supporting character in Rick Riordan's Percy Jackson and the Olympians series, as well as a minor character in the Heroes of Olympus, as Jason's sister. She is the demigod daughter of Zeus and Beryl Grace, a famous mortal actress.

Why did they recast Annabeth in Percy Jackson? ›

Novelist Rick Riordan, who also serves as an executive producer on the upcoming Disney+ live-action adaptation of his novel series, Percy Jackson and the Olympians, recently claimed that race replacing Annabeth Chase is “a massive benefit to broaden the cast in terms of representation.”

Did they change the actor for Chiron in Percy Jackson? ›

Anthony Head as Chiron, the activities director at Camp Half-Blood. Chiron is a centaur and the immortal son of Kronos and brother of Zeus, Poseidon, Hades, Demeter, Hestia and Hera. Chiron was previously played by Pierce Brosnan in The Lightning Thief.

Who is replacing Lance Reddick in Percy Jackson? ›

Summary. The creative team of Percy Jackson and The Olympians is not ready to recast the role of Zeus following the death of actor Lance Reddick. Executive producer Jon Steinberg admits there is denial and a sense of gratitude for Reddick's work in crafting the character.

Why does Annabeth look different in Percy Jackson? ›

Though it is expected to be a more faithful adaptation, Jeffries' version of Annabeth will be very different from the books. The daughter of Athena is described by Riordan as blonde and white in the books, though the Disney+ series cast a Black actress in the role, which sparked a casting controversy.

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