If you’ve been reading through Neil Gaiman’s American Gods with Nerdist’s Alpha Book Club this month — or if you’re just a longtime fan of the book — then you’re probably so much more excited for the Starz series to premiere on April 30. But of course, no adaptation is exactly like its source material, and having the text so fresh in our minds is going to make those differences stand out all the more. So what should longtime book fans be the most excited to see? I got the chance to sit down with the cast of the show, as well as its creators, and ask them exactly that.
A lot of people get upset when changes are made to a story they love, but in the case of American Gods, it means more time fleshing out parts of the world that we don’t get to see all that much from Shadow’s perspective in the book. “Where we get to see tiny little glimpses of characters of the books, there’s this whole area of ‘what did they do? Who knows?’“ Bruce Langley, who plays Technical Boy, said. “we really get to expand in the series and see what they were doing in that time.”
So if you’ve ever wondered how Shadow’s wife Laura Moon was able to follow him across the country while still being extremely dead, or what raucous adventures Mad Sweeney was having while trying to track down his lucky coin, then your curiosity will definitely be handsomely rewarded. In fact, you’ll get a lot of cool bonus content, so to speak. “The first season is only the first 100 pages of the book!” Emily Browning, a.k.a. Laura herself, noted. “I think that will be cool for fans of the book. They get to see what they’ve already loved from the story, but there are still going to be surprises for them as well. “
There were also some logistical changes that needed to be made to update the story for 2017, which will no doubt be interesting for book readers to encounter along the way. For example, Laura couldn’t be a small town travel agent anymore, author Neil Gaiman explained, because there are no more small town travel agents. But as co-creator Michael Green also pointed out, “The issues and themes brought into that are going to be relevant for a long time.”
Moreover, the visual elements in the show will feel exactly like what you’d expect a series based on Gaiman’s lush, stunning prose to feel like. According to Kristin Chenoweth, who plays Easter, “The look of these worlds are all very specific and very well documented in the book, and I think they’ll enjoy seeing that come to life.”
Finally, Mr Nancy actor and internet darling Orlando Jones was also a huge fan of the book going into the series, so naturally he had the best and most accurate answer for what fans should get excited about: “Bilquis.” Honestly, enough said.
Is there a scene from American Gods that you can’t wait to see recreated on screen? Tell us about it in the comments below!
Images: Starz
