Aleks Paunovic, who portrays the cyclops Polyphemus in the Disney+ series Percy Jackson and the Olympians, previously appeared as an unnamed cyclops in the 2010 film Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief. The producers were unaware of his earlier role until after casting. This connection serves as an unexpected Easter egg for fans.
The Disney+ series Percy Jackson and the Olympians, now in its second season, adapts Rick Riordan's novels more faithfully than the 2010 film Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief and its 2013 sequel. Season 2 features Percy (Walker Scobell) on a quest for the Golden Fleece, guarded by Polyphemus, played by Aleks Paunovic. This role echoes Paunovic's brief appearance in the 2010 movie, where he ran through a forest as an unnamed cyclops with a practical eye enhanced by CGI slits for visibility and later digital effects. Paunovic noted the series version relied more on digital effects, using CGI for the one-eyed look based on his own eye movements tracked during filming. He spent about five hours in makeup for 40 pounds of prosthetics plus a 15-pound headpiece. The producers did not know of his prior role; Paunovic said he >wasn't going to say anything until the contract was done,< in case it affected casting. Executive producer Dan Shotz reacted with, >Well, that's an Easter egg for people.< Polyphemus, drawn from Homer's Odyssey where Odysseus blinded him, meets an ambiguous end in the series, thrown off a cliff by his half-brother Tyson (Daniel Diemer). The series will return for a third season later this year, while Christopher Nolan's The Odyssey, featuring another take on Polyphemus, arrives in July.
