Neil Gaiman is a beloved author of many fantasy classics, including the recently adapted Coraline and the classic graphic novel Sandman. Now the next of his works to get a big-budget adaptation is the novel American Gods, about the old and new world Gods heading into all out war over who gets to hold dominion over America.
The first thing you can see from the trailer is all the big names they cast. Ian McShane as Wednesday, Crispin Glover as Mr. World, Kristin Chenoweth as Easter, Cloris Leachman as Zorya Vechernyaya, Orlando Jones as Mr. Nancy, and Emily Browning as Laura. Everyone seems to fit their role splendidly, especially Chenoweth. Some of you might recognize Ricky Whittle, who plays the protagonist Shadow Moon, from Austenland or The 100.
The next thing you might notice is how grand scale and artsy the shots are. Fields of blood, heavy lighting and shadow, sweeping deserts and forests, not to mention some very bizarre situations. In a way, it feels almost like they’re adapting a comic than a book — with so much color and vibrancy, it feels like the visuals were already set in place long before the show. It’s this visuality that really adds to the hype, especially with the effort on the sets and tech.
One can’t say for sure how far into the book they will get into the first eight-episode season, or if they will integrate the side-novel Anansi Boys. A lot looks like it happens in this first run, going all the way up to the tree of Odin, but that could just be to tease fans of the book. Either way, it appears to be a faithful adaptation and Neil Gaiman has consistently given it his seal of approval, if that is something important to you as a viewer.
American Gods will premiere on Starz on April 30.
