‘Percy Jackson’ reboot to have Black, Indian American actors in main trio

The upcoming “Percy Jackson and the Olympians” series, in the works at Disney+, has filled its three main roles. 

Leah Sava Jeffries (“Empire”) and Aryan Simhadri (“Spin”) will star as Annabeth Chase and Grover Underwood, the closest friends of Percy Jackson, who will be played by 13-year-old Walter Scobell. 

Though the title character has remained white with Scobell, Jeffries is Black and Simhadri is Indian American 

Simhadri hails from Riverside, California, and was recently a lead in “Spin,” the first Disney Channel original movie about an Indian American family. Jeffries, who is from Detroit, has acted since she was 3 years old in shows like FOX’s “Empire” and “Erica.” She is set to appear alongside Idris Elba in the movie “Beast,” premiering later this year. 

Disney+’s new show is based on a series of five young adult novels written by Rick Riordan between 2005 and 2009. The books are a modern-day interpretation of ancient Greek mythology, following demigods Percy, Annabeth and satyr Grover as they navigate adolescence while taking on gods, titans and monsters. 

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