Director Chris Columbus has just found his young leading man for his new film. According to The Hollywood Reporter, Logan Lerman has signed on to play the title character in Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief, an adaptation of Rick Riordan's children's book.

Brandon T. Jackson (Tropic Thunder) has also signed on to star in the film. Lerman will star as Percy Jackson, the 12-year-old, half-human son of the Greek god of the sea, Poseidon, who embarks on a journey across modern-day America to reclaim Zeus' stolen lightning bolt, rescue his mother and stop an all-out war between the Gods. Jackson will star as young Percy's best friend Grover Underwood, a half-human/half-goat creature called a "satyr" who shares a psychic bond with Percy. The character is in his 30s but, mentally, is only 16 since satyr's only mentally develop at half the speed of humans.

Chris Columbus is directing from a screenplay he co-wrote with Craig Tilley. An April prodcution start-date has been set, with filming to take place in Vancouver.

Percy Jackson & the Olympians: Lightning Thief was released February 12th, 2010 and stars Logan Lerman, Brandon T. Jackson, Alexandra Daddario, Trent Jones, Jake Abel, Sean Bean, Pierce Brosnan, Steve Coogan. The film is directed by Chris Columbus.