Another child of the Big Three is on the way in “Percy Jackson and the Olympians.” The Disney+ series has found its Thalia for Season 2 in Tamara Smart.
The “Resident Evil” star will portray the daughter of Zeus in the second season of the show, which is, of course, based on “The Sea of Monsters,” the second book in Rick Riordan’s fantasy series.
“Thalia Grace is one of the most important characters in the Percy Jackson universe, so the right casting was critical,” Riordan said in a Monday statement. “Thalia is a powerful warrior, a fiercely loyal friend and a demigod rebel with a very ‘punk’/‘rage-against-the-machine’ sensibility.”
He continued, “As soon as we saw Tamara Smart play this role, we knew we had found our daughter of Zeus. She was, no pun intended, electric. Tamara puts the ‘grace’ in Thalia Grace!”
In the books, Thalia was turned into a tree by her father after she was struck down in battle — and that tree now protects Camp Half-Blood. But, when the tree is poisoned in “Sea of Monsters,” Percy and his friends go on a quest to retrieve the Golden Fleece, which can heal anything.
However, when they place the fleece on the tree, it not only heals the plant… but brings back Thalia herself.
Smart had previously worked alongside the late Lance Reddick, who portrayed Zeus in the first season of the Disney+ original series, coincidentally also playing his daughter on Netflix’s “Resident Evil” series.
“I’m so grateful and excited to be joining the cast of Percy Jackson and the Olympians. It’s so close to my heart,” Smart said in a statement. “Lance Reddick and I always spoke about working together again, so it’s that much more special and important to me to play his daughter once more as Thalia, and to keep his memory alive. I feel his presence all around me and strive to make him proud on this exciting journey.”
She will appear as a recurring guest star in Season 2 of the epic adventure series, alongside series regulars Walker Scobell, Leah Sava Jeffries, Aryan Simhadri, Charlie Bushnell and Dior Goodjohn.
Smart marks the second cast addition to the next season, after Daniel Diemer was revealed to be playing Percy’s half-brother Tyson (a cyclops) at San Diego Comic-Con earlier this year.
“Percy Jackson and the Olympians” is now streaming on Disney+.
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