Lin-Manuel Miranda Moderates PERCY JACKSON Event at The Paley Museum

On December 17, The Paley Museum hosted the PaleyLive event “Percy Jackson and the Olympians” – An Inside Look at Season 2, featuring a red carpet, screening, and conversation with the cast from the hit Disney+ series, moderated by Broadway’s Lin-Manuel Miranda (“Hermes”).

The red carpet was attended by Walker Scobell (“Percy Jackson”), Leah Sava Jeffries (“Annabeth Chase”), Aryan Simhadri (“Grover Underwood”), Charlie Bushnell (“Luke Castellan”), Dior Goodjohn (“Clarisse La Rue”), and Daniel Diemer (“Tyson”). 

Fans of the show gathered in the Bennack Theater at The Paley Museum in New York City for a screening of episode 3 from season 2, followed by an exclusive panel with the cast. The panelists shared behind-the-scenes stories, uncovered secrets from Camp Half-Blood, and provided an inside look at the adventures that await everyone’s favorite demigods in this new season. 

Miranda asked the group about returning to set after the break between seasons. Scobell responded, “We did the season 1 press tour in December, and then until July, none of us saw each other. […] We just showed right back up, and that’s where the story picked back up too.” Goodjohn agreed, recalling, “We all arrived at season 2 just really ready to get back to work.” 

When asked about joining the hit show for the second season, Diemer said, “It has felt like family, really. And they’ve been so supportive of me coming into the family.” Simhadri echoed this, stating of his role in the new season, “I was a fan of the books, so I knew I wouldn’t be in it as much. [The team] came to me and said […] we still want you around, we still want you to hang out on set.”  

On the topic of doing her own stunts, Goodjohn remarked, “it’s pretty sick,” later adding, “All the water, the wires…everything was wild.” Miranda exclaimed, “You get to be an action star this season!” 

When asked about the character of “Luke” being set up as the show’s villain, Bushnell answered, “I don’t see Luke as a villain. I think he’s the product of someone who’s been wronged his whole life.” He later reflected, “I think there are a lot more stakes this season for all our characters.”

Miranda took a moment to remember the late Lance Reddick, who played the character of “Zeus” in season one. “I worked with him on season one and it was awesome. […] He’s such an amazing actor. I actually remember filming my first shot with him,” Scobell said. “It was the greatest experience. He’s super sweet. […] We’ll always miss him; he’ll always be the Zeus that he is,” added Jeffries. Miranda then acknowledged Courtney B. Vance stepping into the role, prompting Jeffries to add, “Courtney is a great Zeus as well […]. He has that Zeus presence.”  

Looking ahead to future episodes, Scobell teased, “The end of season 2 sets us up perfectly for season 3.” Miranda closed out the conversation, stating, “There’s a lot I’m looking forward to, both as a participant and a fan of the series.” 

Based on The Sea of Monsters, season two of “Percy Jackson and the Olympians” premiered on December 10 on Disney+, with new episodes rolling out every Wednesday. Season three of the series is currently in production in Vancouver. 

Photo Credit: The Paley Center for Media