Raising the question of whether it will be renamed American Godz, Variety reports that Starz has ordered a TV adaptation of Neil Gaiman’s American Gods to series. The premium cable network partnered with production company Fremantle Media and executive producers Gaiman, Bryan Fuller (yep, of Hannibal fame), and Michael Green to develop the series last summer, so it’s not terribly surprising that it’s following up that commitment with a series order. But after the project was abandoned by HBO, it’s nice that it finally found a network that gets it, you know?
And Starz isn’t hesitating to move forward with the series: Production will reportedly begin as soon as an actor is found for the lead role of Shadow Moon, an ex-con who serves as a bodyguard for Mr. Wednesday, an ancient god disguised as a con man. In their travels across the U.S., the duo meets and interacts with a host of deities imported by cultures around the world, as well as New American Gods who represent modern inventions like the internet.
“I am thrilled, scared, delighted, nervous and a ball of glorious anticipation,” Gaiman says. “I’m relieved and confident that my baby is in good hands. Now we finally move to the exciting business that fans have been doing for the last dozen years: casting our Shadow, our Wednesday, our Laura.” Starz is welcoming fan input on who should play the protagonist, and is asking people to express their opinions on social media with the hashtag #CastingShadow. (It doesn’t care who you think would make a good Mr. Wednesday, apparently.)