Courtney B. Vance will take on the late Lance Reddick’s Percy Jackson and the Olympians role

Courtney B. Vance will be stepping into Lance Reddick’s godly shoes at the top of Mount Olympus. Per Variety, the Hunt For Red October actor will recast Reddick as Zeus in the upcoming season of Disney+’s Percy Jackson And The Olympians. Reddick died at the age of 60 shortly after wrapping his role as king of the gods in season one.

“I can’t tell you how excited I am to join the extraordinary cast of Percy Jackson and the Olympians!” Vance said in a statement. “There are few moments in an actor’s career when you can honestly say that you’re about to board a series that has such a devoted fan base filled with characters beloved around the world and is based on a wildly successful book series. I know that stepping into this role of Zeus will be a memorable experience and I’ll be giving my brother, Lance Reddick, who left us way too soon, a heavenly hug.”

Rick Riordan, the author behind the Percy Jackson novels and a creator and executive producer of the show, mirrored Vance’s enthusiasm. “We are so excited and fortunate to have Courtney B. Vance join us as the King of Olympus—it is truly a gift from the gods!” he said. 

In season one, Zeus accused demigod Percy (Walker Scobell) of stealing his master lightning bolt, setting the whole tale in motion. It’s this initial charge that leads the young son of Poseiden and his friends, Grover (Aryan Simhadri) and Annabeth (Leah Sava Jeffries), on their monster-filled road trip to prevent a war amongst the gods.

There’s a lot more story for Zeus, Percy, and the rest of the crew in store in season two, which is based on the second book in the series, The Sea Of Monsters. Percy “returns to Camp Half-Blood one year later to find his world turned upside down. His friendship with Annabeth is changing, he learns he has a cyclops for a brother, Grover has gone missing and camp is under siege from the forces of Kronos,” the official logline reads. “Percy’s journey to set things right will take him off the map and into the deadly Sea of Monsters, where a secret fate awaits the son of Poseidon.”

Vance isn’t the only new god—demi or othersise—coming to Olympus. Tamara Smart is joining the show as Zeus’ daughter, Thalia, along with Andra Day as Athena, Daniel Diemer as Tyson, and Timothy Simons as Tantalus. No official season two premiere date has been announced as of this writing.