Source : @Variety
LUCCA, 20 October 2026 – The young stars of Disney’s Percy Jackson and the Olympians – Walker Scobell, Leah Sava Jeffries and Aryan Simhadri – will travel to Italy’s Lucca Comics and Games festival in late October to unveil previously unseen footage ahead of the 20 November release of the show’s third season, Variety reported on Tuesday.
The appearance, shared on X by Variety and detailed in an interview by Variety’s Nick Vivarelli, will take the cast to a fan gathering held within the 16th-century walls of the medieval Tuscan town, which Variety said draws more than 200,000 fans each year and is the biggest pop culture festival in Europe.
Giovanni Cova, head of Milan-based entertainment marketing company QMI, which leads programming of Lucca’s film and television strand, told Variety the festival was “absolutely delighted” to have Disney’s support and to serve as a key stop on a major promotional tour. He said the booking further confirmed that Lucca had become “an essential international stage” for unveiling major series released in the autumn.
Cova pointed to the festival’s recent track record as “a” – if not “the” – primary showcase for titles such as Stranger Things, Squid Game, Wednesday and The Lord of the Rings, and credited the local offices of the major studios and streamers with persuading decision-makers in Los Angeles of the event’s importance.
‘No filter’ between talent and fans
Asked what sets Lucca apart, Cova highlighted the media exposure generated by its high-profile guests, the distinctive photo opportunities and “the chance for talent to get up close and personal with their actual fans”, which he described as “absolutely priceless”. Images of cast members surrounded by crowds in the ancient Piazza San Michele, he said, travel around the world precisely because they look so different from a typical red-carpet scene.
He argued that the main difference between Lucca and traditional film festivals is that “there is no filter between the content, the talent and the audience”. At conventional festivals, he said, work is presented first to industry professionals and the press, who then act as intermediaries; at Lucca, film criticism “is not part of the festival’s DNA”, and studios can connect directly with audiences without worrying about generating bad press.
Beyond Percy Jackson, this year’s guests include American comics creator Frank Miller, returning to Lucca for what Cova believes is the fourth or fifth time, Japanese director Hirokazu Kore-eda, who is bringing Look Back, and actor Joe Manganiello, whom Cova said embodies the festival’s mix of cinema, video games and tabletop games.
Cova added that immersive installations are now as significant as star appearances, with this year’s line-up including a Harry Potter experience, a K-pop-themed experience from Netflix, a Crunchyroll pavilion hosting numerous premieres, and activations for Percy Jackson from Disney and Dexter for Paramount+.
Background
Percy Jackson and the Olympians, which streams on Disney+, is adapted from Rick Riordan’s best-selling fantasy novels about a teenage demigod, the son of the Greek god Poseidon. Scobell plays the title role, with Jeffries as Annabeth Chase and Simhadri as Grover Underwood.
The Lucca visit comes as studios increasingly look beyond traditional festivals to fan conventions to launch major franchises – a shift Cova said has made Lucca a constant presence on the global promotional circuit for studios and streaming platforms.
Source: Variety
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