Half-blood theatre fans get ready: Lin-Manuel Miranda is headed to Mount Olympus. The Hamilton Tony and Pulitzer winner will play Hermes in Disney+'s upcoming series Percy Jackson and the Olympians.
Disney shared the news on Twitter.
A message from the messenger god himself: @Lin_Manuel Miranda is Hermes in #PercyJackson and the Olympians, an Original series coming to #DisneyPlus! pic.twitter.com/ncXp0Rl8Un
— Disney+ (@DisneyPlus) November 7, 2022
The upcoming series is adapted from Rick Riordan's Percy Jackson book series, which also inspired the Broadway musical The Lightning Thief: The Percy Jackson Musical, with a score by Rob Rokicki and a book by Joe Tracz. The musical premiered Off-Broadway and toured North America before making its Broadway bow in 2019. A new 60-minute edition of the work is currently back on tour.
The book series follows its title character, a 12 year-old who learns he is a demigod and the son of Poseidon. The series reportedly began shooting this summer in Canada
Miranda is best known to theatre fans for writing and starring in Broadway's In the Heights (co-written with Quiara Alegría Hudes) and Hamilton, but has since been focusing his work more in film and TV. He has contributed songs to Disney's Moana and Encanto, along with their upcoming live-action remake of The Little Mermaid, the latter a collaboration with Alan Menken. Miranda also directed Netflix's 2021 film version of Jonathan Larson's tick, tick...BOOM! He is, however, scheduled to return to Broadway this spring, contributing additional lyrics to the upcoming Kander and Ebb musical New York, New York. Inspired by the 1977 film, the new musical begins performances at the St. James Theatre March 24, 2023.
Percy Jackson and the Olympians is expected to debut on streamer Disney+ in 2024 with an eight-episode first season.
