What we know about American Gods so far; including plot details

American Gods appears poised to be the next great American television series, and thanks to a SXSW panel we have an idea of its tone and plot.

Neil Gaiman’s masterpiece, upon which the Starz series is based, was first released in 2001. The whole plot is out there for you to digest and enjoy before the series ever airs. But will showrunners Bryan Fuller and Michael Green sneak in any surprises for book readers? Thanks to a Variety report on the American Gods premiere panel at SXSW, we know that, and much more.

Fuller wanted fans of the novel to rest easy, as they made it clear to the SXSW audience himself and Green were major fans of Gaiman’s book, not mercenaries hired to make the novel work for the screen.

"Our first task of adapting is to make the show that we wanted to see as an audience member, and we’re both big fans of the book so it just felt like we needed to put on screen what was in our heads as we read it…"

Image Credit: Starz

And what about the plot? How closely would it stick to the novel, and might Fuller and Green still manage to surprise readers? Ricky Whittle, who plays primary antagonist Shadow Moon, believes book readers are in for a ride, right alongside show only viewers, saying they “really not going to know where we’re going, which way we’re going, or which way is up or down.”

For starters, according to Fuller and Green, many of the female characters will have much larger roles on screen, including Shadow’s wife, Laura.

Fuller dubbed the novel a bit of a “sausage party,” and added that they were “excited to expand on several of the female characters.” That should keep book readers on their toes, as Green added that the series will show much of what Laura Moon is up to off-page in the novel.

AUSTIN, TX – MARCH 11: Actors Orlando Jones (L) and Ian McShane attend the premiere of ‘American Gods’ during 2017 SXSW Conference and Festivals at Vimeo on March 11, 2017 in Austin, Texas. (Photo by Sandra Dahdah/Getty Images for SXSW)

The topic of race was brought up on the panel as well. and series star Orlando Jones who plays Mr. Nancy, believes the show serves as a “platform” for the topic. Fuller added:

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"One of the things that was exciting for us in casting the show … is that so much of the book is based on other cultures and other ethnicities, so it gave us the opportunity not to be color blind,… It was great working with Neil because he was very, very adamant that every actor we cast must be very representative of the book … and gave us the opportunity for much more inclusive casting to represent America."

That certainly will be a refreshing change of pace considering Hollywood’s tendency to whitewash source material lately. Looking at you Ghost in the Shell.

American Gods debuts on Starz April 30th.

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