When the cast for the new Disney+ Percy Jackson and the Olympians series was announced, I expected the backlash soon to follow as Annabeth Chase was revealed to be portrayed by Leah Sava Jeffries. But I didn’t care. All I knew was that this casting choice felt right. To me, Annabeth Chase has always been a black girl.
Percy Jackson & the Olympians is a fantasy book series created by Rick Riordan that draws inspiration and modernizes Greek mythology. The story follows Percy and his two friends Annabeth and Grover as they embark on different quests to prevent the Titan Kronos from destroying their world. As the novels were adapted to a live-action series, the “Wise Girl” trading in her blond hair for box braids sparked a controversial reaction.
In the past decade, there has been a surge of live-action adaptations, remakes, and spin-offs in Hollywood. Though it comes with its own artistic drawbacks, it also creates space for us to reimagine beloved characters. I wasn’t the only one who shared excitement about the series I grew up reading featuring diverse representations of the young demigods. Many people arose on the internet to protect Jeffries, a young actress we did not personally know, because we’ve seen it happen from time to time before when a black girl racebends a traditionally white character.
My earliest memory of this happening was with Annie (2014). Due to my upbringing, Quvenzhané Wallis was the only Annie I knew and it felt as natural as ever. My sister and I had the songs on repeat. I didn’t know it then but I was joining an existing group of people who also fell in love with what the story had to offer. It didn’t matter that Wallis was a child when she played the character and had to deal with comments saying the role should only be portrayed by a white actress. Despite your age, nothing protects you from prejudice.
It also doesn’t matter if you happen to be an animated character or a mythical one. Amber Bennett (Zazie Beats) from the Invincible series and Disney Princess Ariel (Halle Bailey) received the same vitriol. Ariel was a mermaid who knew how to sing, and Halle Bailey was someone who could sing. But of course that didn’t matter. Because it was easier for naysayers to perceive racebending as a way to fulfill diversity quota instead of it being based on the actor’s talent.
In the age of remakes and adaptations, there’s an expectation to remain faithful to the source material as closely as possible. Not everyone gets a second chance. But Percy Jackson & the Olympians did. The film adaptations of the popular book series failed to satisfy both the author’s vision and the expectations of dedicated readers. In 2020, it was announced there would be a live-action series for Disney+ with Rick Riordan promising to be part of the process every step of the way.
That included the casting. Apart from the major plot points being skewered in the film adaptations, the actors were too old to be playing middle schoolers. With an open casting call, Rick Riordan set his eyes on finding a new trio that represented the qualities of the characters and he succeeded. With the backlash that came afterward, Rick Riordan pointed out that any opposition to Leah’s right to portray the character is inherently racist. We watched her castmates support her. Watched her win an NAACP Image Award for her incredible acting skills. But most importantly, she refused to back down in the face of criticism.
When it comes to racebending, it’s crucial not to fall back on stereotypes but to make sure they are fully fleshed-out characters. I believed the racebending in the show only helped deepen their identities to their experiences. The season closely follows the first book, The Lightning Thief, and we see deliberate creative choices by the showrunners to expand on different characters’ development.
Annabeth Chase’s character arc in the novels already embodied the multifaceted nature of black girls, this is what makes her different from other characters who may have been racebent. From the get-go, Annabeth desires to accompany Percy on his quest because she believes that is a way a hero can prove their abilities. She was always striving to excel and be acknowledged. I could relate to this as a black girl who works hard and tries to live up to many expectations to succeed but is never given the same space as others to make mistakes. I realized I had to be the one to believe in myself because no one else would.
Many of us had to be independent from very young. Annabeth ran away from home at the age of seven because she was seen as too much. Oftentimes this leads to external pressures being internalized. Because it didn’t matter that Annabeth had been training for longer than most campers, and learned to survive on her own quickly, she was hard on herself. She resists immediate help because the last thing she wants to be is another burden. Coming from an immigrant household, I learned how to do so many things myself that I found it hard to ask for help from the people around me. I understood Annabeth’s frustrations because there are times when perfectionism gets the best of me and I question my own self-worth. But at the end of the day, we all crave the ability to let our guard down and be seen as enough.
I feel like our dreams and goals also tend to be about uplifting our communities and building the lives we didn’t necessarily grow up with because that’s how you break generational ‘curses.’ I worked hard in college to achieve the dreams my parents sacrificed for but also was always in search of something that went beyond the needs of survival. Annabeth did the same by dreaming of being an architect to make something permanent and stable because she never had that. In the books, we see her hold the weight of the world on her shoulders (literally) because she couldn’t let her friend do it alone. She often thinks about the bigger picture to the extent that she thinks it’s okay to leave her behind if it means fulfilling the quest. It would be easy for her story to fall along the lines of the strong sacrificial black girl trope but it doesn’t. Because through her we learn that sometimes we don’t know all the answers and that’s perfectly okay. She tells Percy she is on his side even if that means defiance of the gods. Because that is what black girls do, we question and reimagine systems because the fact that they existed before us doesn’t always mean they’re right.
In Riordan’s novel, there is text that proves Annabeth’s race in the adaptation is fitting.
In fact, I believe the adaptation has demonstrated to further this context. The scene of her getting stuck in The Fields of Asphodel due to being filled with regret provides an opportunity to explore her struggle with perfectionism and morality in ways not seen before in the books. The show only proves you can update the themes of a piece of work to translate better to a different medium and audience without forfeiting the authenticity.
Through Annabeth, black girls aren’t only able to relate to her struggles but it allows us to affirm the good experiences too. She is able to find people who appreciate her for who she is. She learns to open up and allows herself to be a part of a team, even if it comes with the risk of loss. But at least she doesn’t have to carry everything alone.
We don’t have to carry everything alone.
Annabeth Chase was written as smart, stubborn, and a caring friend. That is why Annabeth been a black girl — because when I read the books I saw myself in her. I wanted to fight monsters. Figure out mysteries with a group of friends. Fall in love. Do all these things the main characters get to do. There’s no reason for us not to be able to envision ourselves on-screen too.
Being a black girl means a lot of the time we don’t have the grace to just exist in a place without others questioning our validity. But like Leah, I know who I am. Annabeth had to be strong in a way so many of us have to be. We strive to be in places they say we can’t be in. We consistently prove them wrong.
I hope that viewers who are exposed to Percy Jackson for the first time through the live-action series will join the long-time fans of us who have been in love with the story from the beginning. That when they see Annabeth Chase, they can see themselves. With the series renewed for a second season, there is much left to be explored but so far it feels like an adaptation come true.
