Walker Scobell is promising a more confident Percy Jackson and stronger character relationships when Percy Jackson and the Olympians returns for its third season.

Speaking at the D23 with his co-stars, the young actor shared that the upcoming installment gives fans more opportunities to see Percy beyond the action sequences, particularly through his friendship with Grover.

“I think one of the things I’m most excited for people to see this season is we get to like spend a lot more time with them, just talking as like friends because you know their kind of mentorship dynamic changes now that Percy’s really coming into his own. He’s learning how to use his powers. He’s got two quests under his belt,” Scobell said.

He revealed that much of the natural chemistry between Percy and Grover came from extensive rehearsals with co-star Aryan Simhadri.

“We like lived right next to each other, and so what we would do a lot of the times is we would just run our scenes together, and we would like just improv and like cut each other off, and we’d go to the gym and run them, and we would just run them as if we were actually talking. So I think what I’m most excited for people to see is how that dynamic kind of kind of grows. It’s more like more like our actual dynamic now.”

Scobell added that some conversations became effortless because they mirrored their real-life friendship.

“Yeah, there was one scene where it was literally just like we we both read it like individually, and then we were like taking a walk, and we’re like, ‘Do you want to just run it? And I feel like you know that was probably the easiest thing to memorize because it was just how we talked.’”

New cast members bring fresh energy

The actor also spoke about working with Tamara Smart, who joins the series as Thalia Grace, recalling how emotionally intense scenes became memorable behind the scenes.

“Yeah, there was one like there was like two days where we did like three scenes in this in one specific like set, and every single scene was us like starting to talk, and then I I would just stand there and she would like scream it because it was the scene, and it was just like three days that every after every single take she go I’m I’m I’m sorry, and I’d be like…”

When asked to sum up the season in one sentence, Scobell jokingly replied:

“Season three is the season where some people get what they deserve after hurting my face last season.”

Plenty of laughs on and off camera

Although season three features high-stakes adventures, Scobell admitted that the lighter scenes proved surprisingly challenging.

“I think. it was just a lot of fun. I mean, you know, it was kind of like it’s okay. This is gonna sound weird. It’s honestly harder to do scenes where you’re like having a good time than when you’re having a bad time. Does that make any sense? Like, and you’re laughing when we did the like the the damn cafe, that whole thing. That was honestly the hardest part of shooting for me, because it’s like, how do you fake laugh? It’s so much easier to be like angry at each other.”

Ironically, he said the cast had the most fun while filming arguments.

“That’s why I feel like we had the most fun. It’s like when we were screaming each other’s faces all day. There was a lot of those days.”

He also reflected on the close friendships formed throughout production.

“You just like you’re filming with these people every single day, and you just kind of you get really close. You all become like siblings. You know what I mean? Like, and it’s like you just get a new family, and then all of a sudden you wrap, and then the you don’t see your family for a while.”

Among his favorite recurring moments were Percy and Thalia’s playful rivalry over Annabeth.

“Also, I want to mention also us fighting, like us fighting over Annabeth is really funny too, which is something I really, really, really enjoyed. It’s just like, well, I know her better. Well, I was there first. Well, I was here longer, and it just back and forth the whole time.”

Improvisation became a key ingredient

Scobell revealed that improvisation played a bigger role this season, praising his fellow cast members for keeping scenes fresh.

“That was that’s also like this season is a lot of improv, just randomly that we would throw it in there. And actually, Levi’s the only one who could throw off Jason Manzukis, which is yeah, that’s ridiculous. We’ve all tried one time and then give up, and he just did it first try. So that was insane.”

Hoover Dam sequence among his favorites

Looking back on filming, Scobell singled out one sequence that stood out the most.

“Ooh, I would say probably the Hoover Dam. That was a lot of fun. It was like it was such a like not only like a release of tension for the characters, but also for us. Like that scene was just at such a perfect time in our filming schedule where we could just kind of like have fun.”

Percy Jackson and the Olympians season three begins streaming on Disney+ 20 November.