Writer Rick Riordan recently confirmed that they won’t be asking any of their actors to change their appearance for their Percy Jackson and the Olympians roles. This popular book series was previously adapted for film in 2010 and again in 2013. While its talented cast brought them some success, the Percy Jackson movies did receive a lot of criticism for making unnecessary changes to the plot and characters for the adaptation. One of the biggest criticisms was the age difference. At the beginning of the first novel, Percy and his friends are said to be 12 years old (although some are slightly older, like Grover) but most of the actors cast were around 10 years their character’s senior.
This, on top of other modifications, left Riordan disheartened and led him to never even watch the unfaithful translations of his Percy Jackson series. After such a big disappointment, fans of the novels were ecstatic to find out that Riordan would be heavily involved in a new for-screen adaptation. After years of waiting, Disney+’s Percy Jackson and the Olympians announced the first addition to their cast: Walker Scobell playing the titular Percy Jackson. This breakout star is known for playing a young Ryan Reynolds in The Adam Project where he showed off his acting abilities and quick wit. His casting has been almost unanimously praised by both old and new fans although his natural blonde hair has had some asking if it would be dyed black or if he would be given a wig to fit Percy’s novel descriptions.
Following Scobell’s casting, Riordan shared in a post on his blog that the crew have no intentions of asking him to dye his hair. What was most important to Riordan was that every actor properly embodied the essence of these characters, rather than focusing on things like physical appearance. So, the Disney+ adaptation may feature a blonde Percy Jackson in the newest storytelling of the hero. Read his quote below:
"I bet you are asking: Are we going to make Walker dye his [Scobell] hair black? Answer: We have had zero conversations about this. Personally, I think this is a non-issue. For me, finding the right actors has never been about hair color, eye color, skin color, or any other single physical trait, even if they were described a certain way in the books. … What I want to see are age-appropriate actors who can embody the personalities of the characters, nail their voices and their sense of humor, and make you believe: “Yes, that is Percy. That is Grover. That is Annabeth,” … So blond Percy? Hey, why not? IMO Walker [Scobell] is awesome just as he is. He is perfect for the role."
Fans often voice their upset when the movie version of a character’s appearance differs from that of their book counterpart. There were plenty of people who were saddened by Annabeth having brown hair instead of her book blonde in the 2010 movie. Though these physical descriptions never particularly mattered to Riordan, even admitting to having mixed up details from book to book in the past with things like Annabeth’s hair pattern, Thalia’s eye color and Nico’s skin tone.
It’s not uncommon for movie adaptations to make changes from the books they reference, and while some can have disastrous effects on the plot, these changes don’t seem all that important. With more focus being put on the actor’s ability rather than their appearance, it also allows for much more diverse casting. Other examples of this approach to casting were seen in Neil Gaiman’s Sandman and Good Omens. While Percy won’t look exactly like some fans imagined, Riordan’s dedication to acquiring the perfect cast for Percy Jackson and the Olympians surely won’t disappoint.
Source: Rick Riordan