Luke Castellan

NOTE: This page is only for Luke Castellan's characterization in the film series, considering the original novel counterpart was not voted Near Pure Evil. Therefore, only the film version's info and crimes should be listed here.

Near Pure Evil

Full Name

Luke Castellan

Alias

Son of Hermes

The Lightning Thief

Origin

Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Lightning Thief

Allies

His minions

Kronos (formerly)

Powers / Skills

Demigod physiology

Excellent swordsmanship
Deception
Charisma
Teleportation
Thievery
Athleticism
Intelligence

Goals

Steal Zeus' lightning.

Incriminate Percy Jackson as the lighting thief (both temporarily succeeded).
Kill Percy Jackson and his friends (failed).
Release Kronos (succeeded but backfired).

Moral Event Horizon

Stealing lightning from the Gods to cause an all-out war.

Releasing Kronos to destroy Olympus.

Kill Count

Billions (attempted)

Crimes

Theft

Attempted mass murder
Attempted mass destruction

Type of Villain

Vengeful Opportunist

Luke Castellan is the main antagonist of 20th Century Studios' Percy Jackson film series based on Rick Riordan's Percy Jackson & the Olympians novel series.

He was a son of the Greek god Hermes who held a strong grudge against the gods, so much so that he planned to awaken his great-grandfather, the Titan Kronos (also known as Cronus) in order to destroy the Olympian gods.

He was portrayed by Jake Abel, and Samuel Braun as a child.

His Evil Ranking[]

What Makes Him Close To Being Pure Evil?[]

In General[]

While he's still sympathetic, a lot of his more sympathetic and well-intentioned nature from the novels was absent in the duology, with his intentions just wanting to fuel his revenge and especially lacking the redemption from the novels. While his novel version was also enemies with Annabeth and Thalia, he didn't actually want to fight the former and he wanted to resurrect the latter to be on his side, while this version wanted to fight the former.
While he did have some comedic moments such as telling Percy to get off his roof and playing chess by himself until the Andromeda started tilting, they were brief and didn't detract from his heinousness as he's still taken seriously in-universe.

Past[]

He stole lightning from the Gods to cause an all-out war which would cause a lot of destruction and death, while also incriminating Percy Jackson for the theft.

Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Lightning Thief[]

He actively befriends Percy at Camp Half-Blood, offering guidance and appearing supportive, only to reveal his true, murderous intentions. This makes his betrayal particularly insidious.
When Percy Jackson tried to give the bolt to Zeus after finding it, he appeared to him and revealed to him as the Lightning Thief, then tried to kill him, Grover, Annabeth and Sally.

Percy Jackson: Sea of Monsters[]

He poisoned Thalia's tree, letting a Colchis bull break into Camp Half Blood.
After the Colchis Bull was killed by Percy, Luke showed up to him and told him about resurrecting Kronos before leaving.
With Chris Rodriguez's help, he abducted Grover.
He later imprisoned Percy, Annabeth, and Tyson on board the Andromeda.
After finding the heroes in Polyphemus' lair, he took the Fleece and seemingly killed Tyson, later telling Percy it was all his fault.
He then tied up Percy, Annabeth and Grover before trying to resurrect Kronos.
After Percy, Annabeth and Grover broke free, he and his minions fought them.
He later successfully freed Kronos, only for the Titan to devour him immediately after.

What Prevents Him From Being Pure Evil?[]

He's portrayed sympathetically at times, such as showing anger that Hermes would message Percy to tell him he cares about him rather than telling him himself.
While he does subvert his care for Annabeth, he doesn't completely subvert his care for Thalia. He calls Annabeth out for having a cyclops with her, implying it's an insult to her death, saying she disappoints him. While it is hypocritical considering he poisons her tree, it implies that he on some level still cares about her.

Trivia[]

His novel counterpart was Inconsistently Heinous due to being more sympathetic, having more redeeming qualities and ultimately even redeeming himself. His TV counterpart hasn't been decided yet, though since it's a more faithful adaptation to the novel series, it's possible he could qualify as Inconsistently Heinous.
- The film series was planned to have five films just like how the novel series had five novels. However, the plans never came to fruition, and there's only two films. Had the film series gained three more films just like how it's supposed to gain, it's possible he would also gain the redeeming qualities his novel version had and become Inconsistently Heinous.