Percy Jackson: Why Logan Lerman Won't Play Poseidon In The Reboot

Either Logan Lerman is as committed to lying as Andrew Garfield is, or he really isn't going to appear in Disney+'s upcoming "Percy Jackson and the Olympians" series. The actor, who previously portrayed the titular son of Poseidon in 20th Century Fox's cinematic adaptations of Rick Riordan's novels, continues to deny any involvement with the latest foray into the realm of Grecian myth.

During a 2023 interview with Esquire, Lerman spoke once again about a prevalent internet rumor, one that believes he will return to Riordan's stories not as Percy Jackson but as his father, Poseidon. And those who do not necessarily believe the rumor seem to support its message anyway, as Lerman is notably considered blameless for 20th Century Fox's controversial handling of Riordan's material.

Lerman told Esquire, "I get people asking me all the time if I'm gonna play Poseidon, and I'm like, am I old enough to play Poseidon? I don't think I'm old enough for that one! I wouldn't cast me in that role if I was part of the creative team. I don't know, these are all hypotheticals, so I have no idea ... But what I do know is that Rick Riordan is doing it, and that's pretty cool for the fans."

As we previously mentioned, Logan Lerman is broadly labeled as innocent of the sins assigned to 20th Century Fox for mishandling "Percy Jackson." And while the actor insists that "there's not a secret that's waiting to be announced" (another quote from Lerman's interview with Esquire), there's undeniable poetry to the idea of him returning to Camp Halfblood in a better, more socially favorable adaptation of Rick Riordan's work.

But Lerman is right. Poseidon is not the role for him. Now, the internet was half correct in that he should appear as a mentor figure to Percy, thus mirroring Lerman's potential as a mentor figure to Walker Scobell, just not as his father. There's a younger, more appropriate role for Lerman to portray in the "Percy Jackson" universe of stories — Quintus.

And this isn't a dig at Lerman's salt-and-pepper aesthetic. Quintus is a character with a complicated past. Without spoiling anything, he's a man who was forced into some uncomfortable situations and had to make some difficult choices. In his older age, Quintus uses his past as a barometer for how to handle the present.

Imagine that context applied to Lerman's own history with the franchise. He did the best he could in a difficult situation and endeared himself to the fandom during the process. Quintus' live-in-the-moment ideology even aligns with Lerman's, who told Esquire, "I'm just so in the mindset of what I'm working on right now." 

Plus, Quintus gets to give Percy one of the coolest gifts ever — a literal hellhound. And who wouldn't want to do that?