Some fresh news from Olympus today, as Variety reports that two more actors have signed on for Disney+’s upcoming TV adaptation of Rick Riordan’s Percy Jackson books. Jay Duplass is taking on the role of Head Dead Guy Hades, and Timothy Omundson is making the move from TV royalty to literal TV deity as Hephaestus, god of blacksmiths.
Duplass works regularly on both sides of the camera; he currently appears on HBO’s Industry, and has had notable roles in recent years on Search Party, The Chair, and more. (In addition to all the films and TV he continues to make alongside his brother Mark.) As Hades, he’ll play a key role in Riordan’s story of the Greek gods in the modern world; the elder brother of Zeus, Hades is suspected, in Percy Jackson And The Lightning Thief, of being the one who pilfered the titular bolt.
Omundson has a far more cheerful role, meanwhile, with Hephaestus typically portrayed as one of the least dick-ish members of Riordan’s pantheon. A veteran TV actor best known for his long-time role on USA’s Psych, Omundson was forced to step away from acting after suffering a stroke in 2017. He’s since returned to the business, appearing in the Psych sequel movies, New Amsterdam, and the little running video of Galavant clips that cycles endlessly in our minds.
Duplass and Omundson join a stacked cast of immortal folks, including Walker Scobell as Percy himself, a regular kid who finds out he’s the son of Poseidon. Other additions to the cast include Virginia Kull, Glynn Turman, Jason Mantzoukas, Megan Mullally, Timm Sharp, Dior Goodjohn, Olivea Morton, Charlie Bushnell, Adam Copeland, Suzanne Cryer, Jessica Parker Kennedy, and Lin-Manuel Miranda. That’s a whole lotta gods.
