Today, Starz announced that it has officially greenlit a television series adaptation of Neil Gaiman's American Gods.
The contemporary fantasy novel will be adapted for Starz by Bryan Fuller (Hannibal, Pushing Daisies) and Michael Green (The River, Heroes), with both men acting as the series' showrunners. Gaiman will serve as executive producer with FremantleMedia North America producing.
"I am thrilled, scared, delighted, nervous and a ball of glorious anticipation," said Gaiman in a press release. "The team that is going to bring the world of American Gods to the screen has been assembled like the master criminals in a caper movie: I'm relieved and confident that my baby is in good hands."
The network also announced that casting has begun for the lead character in the series, Shadow Moon. Once that casting decision is made, and other characters are filled, the network plans on immediately beginning production on the series.
The 2001 novel American Gods novel tells the story about a war brewing between the traditional biblical and mythological old gods and a group of new gods reflecting modern society. In the novel, Shadow Moon is an ex-con who becomes bodyguard to Mr. Wednesday, a conman, who also just happens to be one of the older gods. Their mission is to gather forces together for the old gods to prepare for battle against the new deities.
"Almost 15 years ago, Neil Gaiman filled a toy box with gods and magic and we are thrilled to finally crack it open and play," said Fuller and Green in a press statement. "We're grateful to have STARZ above us and FremantleMedia at our backs as we appease the gods, American or otherwise."
American Gods has not only been translated into over 30 languages, but has also earned many awards, including the Hugo, Nebula and Bram Stoker Awards for Best Novel.
Starz is using social media to get fans to chime in on who they think should play the lead role. American Gods fans can tweet @AmericanGodsSTZ and @STARZ_Channel using the hashtag #CastingShadow to share who they think should step into the shoes of Shadow Moon.
Starz bought the rights to American Gods over a year ago and since then, fans have anxiously awaited announcement of a series. It seems that, finally, that wait is over.
Photo Credit: Harper Torch
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