The official casting for Annabeth Chase and Grover Underwood has just been announced. Both are POC actors, and while Grover’s actor has been widely accepted by the fandom, Annabeth’s actress has not.
Annabeth Chase will be played by 12-year-old Leah Sava Jeffries, a black American actress. This casting choice is somewhat controversial, as historically Annabeth has been portrayed, in official art, fanart and the movies-that-shall-not-be-named, as white.
To understand why this change may prove to be an issue, you have to understand Annabeth’s character. It’s not as simple as ‘but she has to be blonde because that’s how I imagine her’ as some have assumed, a problem which could be solved with a wig or hair dye. Annabeth looks the part of your stereotypical bimbo. She’s a tall, blonde, tan Cali girl, the only exception to this rule being her piercing grey eyes. This stereotype is one that has plagued her since childhood and is the reason why she feels the need to prove herself, prove her intelligence and worth, and turns out to be her deadly flaw of hubris. So it’s fair to say that it’s pretty important to her as a character.