{"id":250365,"date":"2026-01-21T18:55:10","date_gmt":"2026-01-21T18:55:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/250365\/"},"modified":"2026-01-21T18:55:10","modified_gmt":"2026-01-21T18:55:10","slug":"walker-scobell-on-thalias-return-and-season-3","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/250365\/","title":{"rendered":"Walker Scobell on Thalia’s Return and Season 3"},"content":{"rendered":"

\n\tSPOILER ALERT: This story contains spoilers from the season finale of \u201cPercy Jackson<\/a> and the Olympians,\u201d now streaming on Disney+<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\n\tFresh off his breakout role in \u201cThe Adam Project,\u201d Walker Scobell<\/a> was just 12 years old when he took on one of YA literature\u2019s most beloved heroes, Percy Jackson. Five years later, he\u2019s growing up as he plays the demigod son of Poseidon, who weathered epic battles and emotional twists in Season 2 of Disney+\u2019s hit adaptation, which is based on Rick Riordan\u2019s second \u201cPercy Jackson\u201d book, \u201cThe Sea of Monsters.\u201d Along the way, Scobell has had to balance life as a teenager with the pressures of bringing Riordan\u2019s beloved character to life.<\/p>\n

\n\tThe Season 2 finale opens with Percy, Annabeth (Leah Sava Jeffries), Grover (Aryan Simhadri), Tyson (Daniel Diemer) and Clarisse (Dior Goodjohn) racing back to Camp Half-Blood after successfully stealing the magical Golden Fleece back from Luke (Charlie Bushnell). But getting there isn\u2019t easy. They\u2019re ambushed by Laestrygonian giants, and to make matters worse, some of the campers they trusted have turned out to be traitors. While they fight their way home, Luke and his forces launch a full-scale assault on the camp, trying to break through its weakened defenses.<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\"\"<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\tCharlie Bushnell as Luke<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tDisney\/David Bukach<\/p>\n

\n\tAgainst heavy odds, Percy and the group make it to Thalia\u2019s tree and place the Fleece on its branches. The Fleece\u2019s powers are so strong that not only is the tree healed from Luke\u2019s poison, but Thalia (Tamara Smart) emerges in human form, brought back to life without having aged since the day six years ago when Zeus (Courtney B. Vance) erected the tree to hold her spirit. Percy is no longer the only child of the \u201cbig three\u201d gods who could fulfill the Great Prophecy.<\/p>\n

\n\tIn a dramatic departure from the book, the finale delivers a shocking twist. It\u2019s revealed in a flashback that the Furies didn\u2019t attack Thalia. Instead, they told her about the Great Prophecy and Zeus\u2019 hopes that she will grow up to save Olympus on his behalf. Angry that he would expect this of her despite his absence in her life, Thalia tells Zeus when he appears that she refuses to serve as his weapon. He decides she cannot remain alive, transforming her into the magical tree that will protect Camp Half-Blood. He then orders Chiron (Glynn Turman) to tell everyone he did it to save Thalia\u2019s life after the Furies almost killed her. The new ending changes everything the campers thought they knew about Thalia\u2019s \u201csacrifice,\u201d and sets the stage for conflicts in Season 3.<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cIt just solidifies everything we know in mythology about Zeus,\u201d Scobell told Variety. \u201cAnd it makes it a lot easier for a lot of demigods to join Luke\u2019s side.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tScobell is now heading into uncharted waters with Season 3, as Riordan\u2019s book \u201cThe Titan\u2019s Curse\u201d has never been adapted. \u201cI almost feel like there\u2019s less pressure, because I don\u2019t think there\u2019s anything to really compare it to,\u201d he said. \u201cI thought Logan Lerman had a wonderful performance as Percy Jackson, but now I\u2019m on my own.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tVariety spoke with Scobell about his experience closing out Season 2, and what lies ahead for Percy Jackson.<\/p>\n

\t\tThroughout the season, Percy is the one person who\u2019s not particularly eager for Thalia\u2019s return. How did it feel to build up that tension in Season 2 when you didn\u2019t have scenes with Thalia until the very end? And how does it feel now that you\u2019re acting with her as you shoot Season 3?\t<\/p>\n

\n\tWhen we were doing these scenes, building up that tension, I was kind of nervous. I was like, \u201cWhat are we gonna do next year?\u201d I didn\u2019t know if they were going to add something else or if they were going to change something, and they did it. I just had no idea what they were gonna do with it, especially after that big plot twist on Thalia\u2019s backstory \u2014 that Zeus did it. So I was really excited to see what was gonna happen when Annabeth and then Thalia and I are just left almost alone.<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\"\"<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\tLeft to right: Leah Sava Jeffries as Annabeth, Tamara Smart as Thalia<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tDisney\/David Bukach<\/p>\n

\t\tThe Season 2 finale takes a pretty dramatic pivot from the book. How do you think the difference in Thalia\u2019s sacrifice is going to change things now that the gang knows it wasn\u2019t what they thought it was?\t<\/p>\n

\n\tIt\u2019s just gonna be even more of a reason to join Luke\u2019s side. We explore that a little bit more in Season 3. And it\u2019s difficult, because Percy can\u2019t argue with that at all really. From Percy\u2019s point of view, she\u2019s not really wrong. Percy agrees with her. It just solidifies everything we know in mythology about Zeus, in my opinion. It makes it a lot easier for Thalia to join Luke\u2019s side.<\/p>\n

\t\tPercy gives a very motivating and inspired speech to dozens of campers before the final battle. How was that to do?\t<\/p>\n

\n\tNerve-racking for sure. I was definitely freaking out a little bit. A lot of people in that room were really familiar faces, so it made it very easy. We\u2019ve all been acting together forever. So I think it made it a lot easier.<\/p>\n

\t\tWe got a glimpse at what happens to Percy when he thinks Annabeth is in danger, and in \u201cThe Titan\u2019s Curse,\u201d they\u2019re separated for a long time. How does it feel for you to not have Leah around as you\u2019re shooting Season 3? And how is Percy dealing with the absence of Annabeth?\t<\/p>\n

\n\tIt was definitely different on set without Leah, for sure. But it was also different without Aryan. Things are different every season. But yeah, he\u2019s just on a mission, and he\u2019s not really going to stop until he gets her back.<\/p>\n

\t\tPercy and Annabeth have had a slow burn, but you also have lines like, \u201cIf I had to choose between you and Olympus, I\u2019d burn it all down.\u201d Rick Riordan told Variety <\/a>after the Season 2 premiere that they were both still in denial about their feelings for each other. At this point in the story, do you think Percy has realized what his feelings towards Annabeth are?\t<\/p>\n

\n\tI don\u2019t think at this part of the story he necessarily has romantic feelings. I think yes to slow burn, and I think yes, if there wasn\u2019t these books, people would also ship them together. But at the same time, I can imagine him saying these lines to Grover; I can imagine saying these lines to Tyson \u2014\u00a0it just happens to be that it is Annabeth. I guess they have been trying to lean into that. <\/p>\n

\n\tAnd I guess in Season 3, we pull back a little bit. We don\u2019t lean into it as much. It\u2019s more like he\u2019s trying to get to her over anything. But that\u2019s just like Percy; it\u2019s like getting to Grover. He really cares about her, and I don\u2019t think it\u2019s like a romantic thing yet. I mean, he still has two love interests to go, so that\u2019s what also makes it difficult. Sometimes I read those lines and I\u2019m like, \u201cI gotta not lean into this with what I\u2019m doing\u201d \u2014\u00a0 but then, I get the notes to lean into it. It\u2019s gonna be interesting when Rachel and Calypso show up.<\/p>\n

\t\tHow do you think Annabeth feels about Percy right now?\t<\/p>\n

\n\tI think they like each other \u2014 not like a crush or anything. I think they\u2019re just really good friends. I would say Grover is like his brother, and I would say Tyson\u2019s like his brother. I think Annabeth is basically one of his best friends at this point. I also don\u2019t think they\u2019re thinking about that at all, because there\u2019s a lot more going on.<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\"\"<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\tLeft to right: Aryan Simhadri as Grover, Leah Sava Jeffries as Annabeth<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tDisney<\/p>\n

\t\tIs there a scene from the book that you wish was in the show but didn\u2019t make it?\t<\/p>\n

\n\tSome things just don\u2019t work out because of pace, or they don\u2019t work out because we wanted to lean into something else that\u2019s a bigger deal. I was missing the Hydra a little bit, but then it\u2019s like, we made the Scylla sequence really massive. And that makes a lot of sense to me. Sometimes you have to pick and choose what you really make a big deal. And it\u2019s also expensive. Hydra is a lot of money, and you\u2019ve got to be careful. It would be cool to have the Hydra and Scylla, but at the same time, I\u2019d rather have one of those things that looks really good, rather than both of them not looking that great and not being able to lean into them completely.<\/p>\n

\n\tI also missed the dodgeball sequence at school. But then, we made enough room for the Manticore and Dr. Thorn chase in Episode 2 [of Season 3], focusing on that and then also that fight sequence.<\/p>\n

\t\tYou\u2019re in the middle of filming Season 3. The third book has never been adapted. How does it feel now that you\u2019re moving into uncharted territory? Do you feel any pressure, or is it more exciting?\t<\/p>\n

\n\tI almost feel like there\u2019s less pressure, because I don\u2019t think there\u2019s anything to really compare it to. I thought Logan Lerman had a wonderful performance as Percy Jackson, but now I\u2019m on my own.<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\"\"<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\tWalker Scobell as Percy<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tDisney\/David Bukach<\/p>\n

\t\tBetween seasons, do you go back home? Do you live with your parents? Do you go to school? Do you live a relatively normal life?\t<\/p>\n

\n\tYeah, it\u2019s actually a lot like Percy in a weird way, and I always found that pretty funny. I go home from this, and I just go right back to school \u2014 I just pick up where I left off. I\u2019ve known all these teachers at the school I go to for a long time. I definitely get cut some slack. But at the end of the day, I do the same work that every other kid does, and I like going back to that.<\/p>\n

\n\tThis interview has been edited and condensed.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"SPOILER ALERT: This story contains spoilers from the season finale of \u201cPercy Jackson and the Olympians,\u201d now streaming…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":250366,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[29],"tags":[4550,146,85,46,133601,411,76133],"class_list":{"0":"post-250365","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-tv","8":"tag-disney","9":"tag-entertainment","10":"tag-il","11":"tag-israel","12":"tag-percy-jackson","13":"tag-tv","14":"tag-walker-scobell"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/250365","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=250365"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/250365\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/250366"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=250365"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=250365"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=250365"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}