In a couple of months, it will be a year since we lost the late, great Lance Reddick. His passing was a shock as it came so suddenly, and at a time where he had incredible works on the horizon. We haven’t even seen the last of his work as he’s due to make a cameo appearance as his John Wick character, Charon, in the spin-off Ballerina. He can recently be seen in the Disney+ show, Percy Jackson and the Olympians, where he fittingly portrays the Greek God, Zeus. Reddick would finish filming the first season just before his untimely passing.
Percy Jackson and the Olympians would finally premiere on Disney+, and the season finale featured an epic conflict with Zeus on the top of Mount Olympus. Deadline reports that the show would pay tribute to the late actor by closing out with a title card that read, “In loving memory of Lance Reddick.” Zeus makes appearances throughout all the Percy Jackson novels, so the character is naturally assumed to continue. However, the showrunners have not announced how they plan to proceed with the character.
The author of the young adult novels, Rick Riordan, took to his blog, where he normally communicates to his fans, and gave a heartfelt tribute to Reddick after the news of his death. Riordan would describe Reddick as a “vibrant, kind and talented” man. Having been involved with the show’s production, Riordan also conveyed that Reddick’s portrayal as Zeus would “remind us of how much brilliance we have lost.” Additionally, he would write, “His gravitas and regal bearing made him perfect for the king of the gods, but from what I could tell, in person he was nothing like the blustery and distant sky god. He had a marvelous and quirky sense of humor. He was thoughtful, caring and piercingly perceptive.”
In addition to Reddick, the show would guest star a whole roster of recognizable names, including Lin-Manuel Miranda (“Hermes”), Megan Mullally (“Alecto” aka “Mrs. Dodds”), Toby Stephens (“Poseidon”), Virginia Kull (“Sally Jackson”), Jason Mantzoukas (“Dionysus” aka “Mr. D”), Jay Duplass (“Hades”), Glynn Turman (“Chiron” aka “Mr. Brunner”), Adam Copeland (“Ares”), Charlie Bushnell (“Luke Castellan”), Dior Goodjohn (“Clarisse La Rue”), Jessica Parker Kennedy (“Medusa”), Olivea Morton (“Nancy Bobofit”), Suzanne Cryer (“Echidna”), Timm Sharp (“Gabe Ugliano”) and Timothy Omundson (“Hephaestus”).
You can now stream the first season of Percy Jackson and the Olympians on Disney+.