Percy Jackson Season 3 Cast Breaks Down Its Changing Bonds

The short answer: Annabeth’s capture changes more than Percy’s quest. The cast explores a more equal friendship with Grover, Luke’s complicated loyalties and the preparation behind the Hunters.

In this article

1. Percy and Grover, on more equal footing
2. Luke beyond Percy’s view
3. Making the Hunters feel like a unit

For Walker Scobell, Percy Jackson’s next quest meant losing a familiar rhythm at work: having Leah Sava’ Jeffries beside him. At August’s D23: The Ultimate Disney Fan Event, he described how strange it felt to film parts of Season 3 without his usual scene partner. Annabeth’s capture sends Percy after her—and gives the cast different relationships to explore.

D23 revisited those conversations in November, ahead of the new season. Adapting The Titan’s Curse, the third book in Rick Riordan’s series, Season 3 follows Percy’s attempt to rescue Annabeth from the forces of Kronos. Grover accompanies him, with unlikely companions joining the quest. It is the novel’s first screen adaptation.

Percy and Grover, on more equal footing

Aryan Simhadri sees Percy’s growing experience changing his friendship with Grover. With two quests behind him and a better understanding of his powers, Percy is coming into his own. Simhadri said their mentor dynamic shifts, leaving more room for the two simply to talk as friends.

I think one of the things I’m most excited for people to see this season is, we get to spend a lot more time with them just talking as friends. Aryan Simhadri, at August’s D23: The Ultimate Disney Fan Event

The actors rehearsed with that ease in mind. Living next door to each other, Simhadri and Scobell ran scenes together, improvised and interrupted one another; sometimes they even rehearsed at the gym. Improvisation also features in Simhadri’s earlier work on Disney’s Just Roll With It, where audience choices shaped what happened in scenes. For Season 3, he said Percy and Grover’s conversations feel closer to the actors’ own friendship.

Luke beyond Percy’s view

Annabeth’s separation from Percy also creates room for Charlie Bushnell’s Luke. Bushnell said she spends considerable time with Luke this season, giving the show more opportunities to explore their relationship. While Scobell was adjusting to working without Jeffries, Bushnell was getting to develop that connection with her.

For Bushnell, television offers a way to consider Luke beyond Percy’s hostility toward him. His reading of the books is that Percy’s perspective, particularly after The Lightning Thief, colors the reader’s understanding of Luke. Percy still despises him in the show, Bushnell noted, but the adaptation gives the actor room to explore Luke’s good and bad qualities—and the gray area between them.

Making the Hunters feel like a unit

For Dafne Keen, who plays Artemis, building believable relationships began before filming. The Hunters trained together at a dedicated camp, learning archery and how to move as a pack. Keen connected that preparation to a specific acting challenge: making the group feel as though its members had been together for millennia.

Getting to know the other women before arriving on set mattered alongside learning the movements. As Keen explained, the performers would not have to meet as strangers and immediately pretend to be one another’s closest confidants. Training gave them time together before they had to convey that familiarity on camera.

Olive Abercrombie described a similar investment in a much smaller unit: siblings Bianca and Nico, played by Abercrombie and Levi Chrisopulos. They spent weeks before filming working on the sibling dynamic. Abercrombie said she had never done that much character preparation, and credited it with helping her find her version of Bianca.

Season 3 premieres November 20 with two episodes, followed by two episodes each week on Disney+ and Hulu.