The on-off saga surrounding Neil Gaiman’s American Gods TV adaptation is nearing a conclusion as the series began casting for parts, after securing its ideal showrunning team.
Gaiman said he was “confident that my baby is in good hands” after Starz, the premium cable channel that is now adapting the book after HBO pulled out last year, confirmed it had started the casting process for lead character Shadow Moon.
The news comes after Starz confirmed – last July – that Hannibal showrunner Bryan Fuller and Michael Green will helm and write the series.
Fuller and Green, who worked together on Heroes, added in a joint statement: “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.”
“I am thrilled, scared, delighted, nervous and a ball of glorious anticipation,” said Gaiman in a statement.
He added: “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.”
The announcement is the latest chapter in the American Gods story, which started when HBO began and then dropped the project in early 2014, leaving FremantleMedia – the company producing the series for Starz – to pick it up and attempt to bring it to the small screen.
American Gods is one of Gaiman’s most well-loved works and has been translated into more than 30 languages. Gaiman’s Anansi Boys is also in development to become a BBC mini-series.
