Percy Jackson Show Casts Major Characters: Sally Jackson, Chiron & Mr D

The Disney+ Percy Jackson show continues to round out its cast by adding actors to play three major characters – Sally Jackson, Chiron, and Mr. D.

Percy Jackson Show Casts Major Characters: Sally Jackson, Chiron & Mr D

The Disney+ Percy Jackson and the Olympians show continues to round out its cast by adding actors to play three major characters – Sally Jackson, Chiron, and Mr. D. The upcoming Percy Jackson show is expected to offer a different take on Rick Riordan’s best-selling fantasy series than the two feature films from 20th Century Fox during the 2010s, which were not considered to be faithful adaptations of the source material. Riordan is now heavily involved in the Disney+ series and has a major say in casting and other creative decisions.

Percy Jackson famously follows the titular teenager as he discovers himself to be a Greek demigod and son of Poseidon. With the help of his friends Grover and Annabeth, Percy embarks on a dangerous adventure to stop the Titans from destroying the world. The Disney+ series has already made waves by casting The Adam Project‘s Walker Scobell as Percy Jackson, followed by Cheaper by the Dozen‘s Aryan Simhadri as Grover Underwood and Empire‘s Leah Sava Jeffries as Annabeth Chase to complete the main trio. Now, the Percy Jackson show is continuing to round out its cast.

Announced directly through Rick Riordan’s official website, the Percy Jackson show has cast actors to play three major characters from the books. Joining the cast are Virginia Kull as Sally Jackson, Glynn Turman as Mr. Brunner, a.k.a Chiron, and Jason Mantzoukas as Mr. D, a.k.a Dionysus. Other than these three major characters, the show has also added Megan Mullally as Mrs. Dodds, a.k.a Alecto, and Timm Sharp as Gabe Ugliano.

There is a lot for Percy Jackson fans to get excited about with these recent casting announcements. Kull has appeared in a few acclaimed television shows like Boardwalk Empire and Big Little Lies and will now be playing the role of Percy’s mortal mother, Sally Jackson, with her performance during episode 1’s table read already moving some to tears, reveals Riordan. The Wire’s Glynn Turman will play Chiron, a centaur who trains heroes at Camp Half-Blood and acts as Percy’s mentor and father figure. Finally, playing the role of the grumpy Camp Half-Blood director is Mantzoukas, known for his comedic turns in Brooklyn Nine-Nine and Parks and Recreation.

Though these actors have decades of experience in television and are more than qualified to play their respective roles in Percy Jackson and the Olympians, these castings will likely continue to cause backlash, just as Jeffries’ casting as Annabeth did, for not matching their characters’ appearances. In the books, Chiron is described as white and was previously portrayed by Pierce Brosnan and Anthony Head in the movies, but will now be played by a Black actor in Turman. Riordan called out the backlash to past castings as racist, which he will likely do again if the naysayers continue to make it an issue.