Percy Jackson's Casting Backlash Completely Misunderstands The Books
The casting backlash for the Percy Jackson and the Olympians TV series shows those people completely misunderstand the books. After the lackluster response to the first adaptation attempt of Rick Riordan's popular YA Greek mythology book series, many were excited by Disney's decision to try again — this time with the author's direct involvement. Yet, the first reveal of the casting for the main Percy Jackson trio was accompanied by a fair bit of criticism as well, especially regarding the choice for Annabeth Chase.
Disney made the announcement that Walker Scobell from The Adam Project, Leah Sava Jeffries from the Empire series, and Aryan Simhadri from Cheaper by the Dozen had been cast to play Percy Jackson, Annabeth Chase, and Grover Underwood, respectively. Riordan also happily shared the news on his personal blog, as he had been involved in the casting process from the very beginning. Unfortunately, along with the praise these choices have been receiving online, there has also been enough negativity that Riordan felt the need to make another post responding to the Percy Jackson backlash.
Related: Percy Jackson Show Means Disney Must Finally Remake Eragon
Most of these negative comments have been directed toward Jeffries, a 12-year-old Black actress cast in a role that the books described as white. These remarks complained that the casting did not reflect their own views on how the character should look and blatantly dismissed any of Jeffries' other qualifications. Riordan succinctly responded in his follow-up post: "Friends, that is racism." Ironically, such a criticism also ignores the core message of the Percy Jackson and the Olympians books, proving how little these so-called fans even know the story they claim to
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