“American Gods” Neil Gaiman hit novel to get film treatment at Starz

PanARMENIAN.Net - Starz is investing in Neil Gaiman's American Gods. The premium cable network and writer-producers Bryan Fuller (Hannibal) and Michael Green (The River, Heroes) have boarded FremantleMedia North America's adaptation of Gaiman's urban fantasy novel American Gods, The Hollywood Reporter said.

Starz has handed out a script-to-series commitment to the project, with Fuller and Green attached to serve as showrunners and exec produce alongside Gaiman. FMNA will produce the series, which is based on the 2001 award-winning novel that has been translated into more than 30 languages. The project previously was in development at HBO, which passed on it.

The drama centers on a war brewing between old and new gods: the traditional gods of biblical and mythological roots from around the world steadily losing believers to an upstart pantheon of gods reflecting society’s modern love of money, technology, media, celebrity and drugs. Its protagonist, Shadow Moon, is an ex-con who becomes bodyguard and traveling partner to Mr. Wednesday, a conman but in reality one of the older gods, on a cross-country mission to gather his forces in preparation for a battle with the new deities.

FMNA's Thom Beers, Craig Cegielski and Stefanie Berk will executive produce the series along with Fuller, Green and Gaiman. Starz vp original programming Ken Segna will oversee for the cabler, which will retain all network pay TV and SVOD rights to the project. FremantleMedia will distribute the series worldwide, according to the report.

American Gods marks the latest scripted venture for FMNA, which landed the project in February. The company is also in production on The Returned.

For Starz, American God would join a roster of original scripted dramas that currently includes Black Sails, Da Vinci's Demons and Power as well as the upcoming series Outlander, Flesh and Bone and The Missing. The cabler also has comedies Blunt Talk and Survivor's Remorse in the works.

Should American Gods move forward, it would become Fuller's second series on the air based on a book, joining the third season of NBC's Hannibal adaptation.