Neil Gaiman’s ‘American Gods’ is finally on its way to the big screen as Starz confirmed its straight-to-series order for a drama adaptation of the contemporary fantasy novel.
Bryan Fuller, who previously worked on ‘Hannibal’ and ‘Pushing Daisies’, has collaborated with ‘Kings’ creator Michael Green. Fuller has signed on to develop and write the screenplay whereas Green has been set as showrunner and executive producer.
Gaiman himself has also joined the team as one of the executive producers. The series will soon begin a casting search for the lead role of Shadow Moon.
Translated into more than 30 languages, the novel released in 2001 shows a battle that has been brought on between old and new gods. The conventional gods with biblical and mythological references are gradually being replaced by a new set of gods who reflect the society’s preference for wealth, technology, celebrities and other similar trends.
The award-winning book follows the story of an ex-convict named Shadow Moon, who becomes a bodyguard as well as a traveling partner to Mr. Wednesday, a conman in disguise but is one of the older gods. They undertake a mission to assemble his forces and prepare to battle it out with the new divine beings.
“With our partners at FremantleMedia and with Bryan, Michael and Neil guiding the project, we hope to create a series that honors the book and does right by the fans, who have been casting it in their minds for years,” Starz CEO Chris Albrecht shared. “The search for Shadow begins today!”
Starz has also been widely recognized for successfully adapting another acclaimed book property, ‘Outlander’ by Diana Gabaldon, following an extensive casting process.
Gaiman also shared about having mixed emotions for the upcoming TV adaptation of his critically acclaimed novel, saying: “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.”
In 2011, ‘American Gods’ had been initially developed in HBO through Tom Hanks and Gary Goetzman’s Playtone but the plans did not push through.
Last summer, Starz began setting up their own arrangements for ‘American Gods’, which was then put in development and had great chances of becoming a straight-to-series order. Fuller recently announced that two scripts have already been finished along with illustrations that demonstrate their vision for the show.
“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,” Fuller and Green stated. “We’re grateful to have Starz above us and FremantleMedia at our backs as we appease the gods, American or otherwise.”
Gaiman is best known for his literary works, such as the comic book 'Sandman' series and the horror-fantasy children's story 'Coraline' that was given a film adaptation by Henry Selick and featured the voices of Dakota Fanning and Teri Hatcher. He has also attained recognition for novels such as 'Stardust', 'The Graveyard Book' and 'The Ocean at the End of the Lane', to name a few.
