Courtney B. Vance Steps in for Lance Reddick as Zeus in Percy Jackson Series

Percy Jackson and the Olympians has found its new king of the gods.

Courtney B. Vance has officially been cast as Zeus for season 2 of the Disney+ series, taking over the role from the late Lance Reddick. “I can’t tell you how excited I am to join the extraordinary cast of Percy Jackson and the Olympians!” Vance, 64, said in a statement to Variety on Monday, November 25. “There are few moments in an actor’s career when you can honestly say that you’re about to board a series that has such a devoted fan base filled with characters beloved around the world and is based on a wildly successful book series.”

Addressing Reddick’s death, he continued: “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.”

Reddick portrayed Zeus in season 1 of Percy Jackson and the Olympians, which premiered on Disney+ nine months after the actor died at age 60 in March 2023. His reported cause of death was Ischemic Heart Disease and Atherosclerotic Coronary Artery Disease.

“The day we lost Lance Reddick, we lost an icon,” executive producer Dan Shotz told Variety on Monday. “Getting to work with this fierce and gentle talent in one of his last roles as Zeus in Percy Jackson and the Olympians was truly awe-inspiring. I felt so fortunate to watch this man stand tall on Mt. Olympus, but more importantly, I felt lucky to be able to call him a friend.”

Shotz, 48, went on to state that finding someone to fill Reddick’s shoes was “not an easy task,” but was a challenge Vance was up for. “This legend of cinema not only wanted to honor the books, but wanted to honor Lance’s legacy,” he stated. “We can’t wait for you all to see him take the throne.”

Rick Riordan, the author of the Percy Jackson book series, added in a statement of his own: “We are so excited and fortunate to have Courtney B. Vance join us as the King of Olympus — it is truly a gift from the gods!”

The show’s first season followed Percy Jackson (Walker Scobell) as he set out on a quest to find Zeus’ Master Bolt after being falsely accused of stealing it. Reddick appeared in the show’s season 1 finale, which Shotz told Variety in January that Reddick filmed just “weeks” before his death. The episode honored Reddick in the credits with a title card that read, “In loving memory of Lance Reddick.”

Following with the books, Zeus will play a larger role in the story moving forward, especially with the season 2 introduction of his demigod daughter, Thalia Grace, played by Tamara Smart. (Season 2 is set to follow the events of the second Percy Jackson book, titled The Sea of Monsters.)

Smart, 19, shares a connection with Reddick, as she played his daughter in Netflix’s one-season Resident Evil series in 2022. “For you,” she captioned a sweet Instagram photo of herself and her former TV dad after her casting was announced in September.

In addition to Scobell, 15, returning cast members include Leah Sava Jeffries as Annabeth Chase, Aryan Simhadri as Grover Underwood, Charlie Bushnell as Luke Castellan, Dior Goodjohn as Clarisse La Rue, Toby Stephens as Poseidon and Jason Mantzoukas as Dionysus.

Joining the show for season 2 are Daniel Diemer as Tyson, Andra Day as Athena, Timothy Simons as Tantalus and Kristen Schaal, Margaret Cho and Sandra Bernhard as the Gray Sisters.