Well, we’re at it again. Last week, Disney announced that, after a long casting process, two main characters of the upcoming series Percy Jackson and the Olympians had been cast. Joining previously announced Walker Scobell (who plays the title character) are Aryan Simhadri as satyr Grover Underwood and Leah Sava Jeffries as Annabeth Chase, the semi-godess daughter of Athena. That should be the end of what we hear on this casting matter, but you know the Internet, right?
Jeffries’ casting as the Camp Half-Blood student was received with criticism by so-called fans of the Percy Jackson saga, who were angry at the fact that Annabeth – a character who is canonically white – is being played by a Black girl. As much as we get surprised by this type of backlash happening in 2022, this is an opportunity to teach and remind people how racism is very much present in the 21st century, even though we often tend to ignore it.
Novel series author Rick Riordan also seems to think along these lines, as he published on his personal website – which he uses to provide regular updates on his projects – an angry and extensive open letter directed at whoever was calling Disney and himself out for casting Jeffries. These people’s argument is that they are not racist, but rather so devoted to the source material that they can’t accept any change when it comes to physical characteristics of their beloved characters, and Riordan isn't having any of it.
In his post, Riordan states that “if you’re still upset about the casting of this marvelous trio, then it doesn’t matter how many times you have read the books. You didn’t learn anything from them.” Riordan makes the case that the Percy Jackson stories are hardly about ethnicity and the color of one’s skin, but about the power in plurality.
What these angry users who have been attacking Jeffries – who has been nothing but kind and adorable with her responses to cruel messages – fail to notice is that they have the notion that Annabeth’s casting is based on anything other than the young actor's talent. They also think that Disney and Rick Riordan are trying to fill up some quota that is somehow required of TV and movie projects lately, when what’s actually happening is that the entertainment industry is trying to even the scales when it comes to bias in casting.
Just a few years back, no matter how good a Black actor was, they would never be cast as a character that was supposed to be Caucasian. You can count on your fingers how many life-changing roles were given to Black kids, especially in world-famous franchises. And of course this doesn’t only happen with kids. The first-ever big budget, mega-blockbuster super-hero movie featuring a predominantly Black cast and crew only came to screens four years ago. We still have a long way to go when it comes to evening those scales, as Riordan underscores:
“I was quite clear a year ago, when we announced our first open casting, that we would be following Disney’s company policy on nondiscrimination: We are committed to diverse, inclusive casting. For every role, please submit qualified performers, without regard to disability, gender, race and ethnicity, age, color, national origin, sexual orientation, gender identity or any other basis prohibited by law. [...] I have been clear, as the author, that I was looking for the best actors to inhabit and bring to life the personalities of these characters, and that physical appearance was secondary for me. […] You refuse to believe [Leah’s] selection could have been based on merit. Without having seen her play the part, you have pre-judged her (pre + judge = prejudice) and decided she must have been hired simply to fill a quota or tick a diversity box. Once you see Leah as Annabeth, she will become exactly the way you imagine Annabeth, assuming you give her that chance, but you refuse to credit that this may be true… You are judging her appropriateness for this role solely and exclusively on how she looks. […] Friends, that is racism. Racism/colorism isn’t something we have or don’t have. I have it. You have it. We all do. And not just white people like me. All people. It’s either something we recognize and try to work on, or it’s something we deny. Saying “I am not racist!” is simply declaring that you deny your own biases and refuse to work on them."
You can read Rick Riordan’s full statement on his website.
The pilot episode of Percy Jackson and the Olympians has been written Riordan himself along with Jon Steinberg. James Bobin is tapped to direct. Disney+ is yet to reveal a release window for Percy Jackson and the Olympians.