Rick Riordan Teases Holt McCallany’s Atlas Villain Story In Percy Jackson Season 3

By MK

December 22, 2025

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Iconic fantasy author Rick Riordan teases next season’s villain of the Disney+ series Percy Jackson and the Olympians. Based on Riordan’s novels about the modern-day half-human offspring of the Greek gods, Percy Jackson has been warmly received by longtime fans due to how it maintains the tone and plot of the source material, unlike the previous failed movie adaptation.

After a successful quest and a war among the gods was prevented in season 1, Percy (Walker Scobell) and Annabeth (Leah Sava Jeffries) embark on a new, unsanctioned mission in season 2 to find the Golden Fleece of legend and save Grover (Aryan Simhadri). With Percy’s cyclops half-brother Tyson (Daniel Diemer) in tow, the demigods encounter new enemies in the Sea of Monsters.

A few antagonists crop up in the second installment: former friend and fallen demigod Luke (Charlie Bushnell) is also trying to find the Fleece, while Percy and Annabeth will run afoul of mythical figures such as Circe “C.C.” (Rosemarie DeWitt) and Polyphemus (Aleks Paunovic). But Riordan has also talked about how the show will adapt the more central villain of season 3.

Per Deadline, confirmed today, the Titan Atlas will be played by Holt McCallany in six episodes of Percy Jackson and the Olympians season 3. Additionally, in an interview with ScreenRant‘s Liam Crowley for Percy Jackson season 2, Riodan discussed how the physical presence of one of the Titans makes the growing threat of Kronos (voiced by Nick Boraine) more real than ever.

Check out Riordan’s comments below:

ScreenRant: This is our first Titan that we’re meeting. We’ve seen Kronos in dreams, we’ve seen the sarcophagus. How does that shake up the world?
Rick Riordan: Yes. The threat in season 3 becomes real. I mean, real in your face, physical manifestation, real. And although we can’t talk casting, they nailed it. I mean, they basically said, “We’re thinking this.” I’m like, “Yep, that’s it.” So I can’t wait to share it.

In The Titan’s Curse, the third book in the Percy Jackson series, which will be the basis for season 3, Annabeth and the goddess Artemis (to be played by Dafne Keen) are taken captive by Atlas, prompting the other heroes to go on a quest to rescue them. Meanwhile, Percy meets two new demigods who could change the course of the impending war against Kronos.

Percy Jackson season 2 has been a hit on streaming since its two-episode season premiere on December 10, having since released one additional episode. One new episode will come out each week until January 21, 2026, making for an eight-episode season, which continues to build the overarching plot of the entire series, as Percy learns more about his fated destiny.

Percy Jackson and the Olympians also stars Dior Goodjohn as Clarisse — Percy’s rival from Camp Half-Blood who is on a more official quest — and is set to feature appearances by Toby Stephens as Poseidon, Andra Day as Athena, and Courtney B. Vance as Zeus, following Lin-Manuel Miranda and Adam Copeland’s returns as Hermes and Ares, respectively.