Bryan Fuller, the showrunner of the upcoming adaptation of Neil Gaiman’s American Gods, recently left a Twitter message promising an intriguing direction for the show. In it, he says, “Ultimately it’s about a man who believes in nothing coming to be a believer in everything…it felt like a wonderful opportunity to explore what we believe in, why we believe, through the story of Shadow Moon.”
As Shadow Moon — who will be played onscreen by Ricky Whittle — is the story’s protagonist, this is not a complete surprise. However, previous details that have emerged about the show suggested that the character might be less prominent onscreen. This is because the Starz version will expand upon the stories of side characters like the man-eating Bilquis and the leprechaun Mad Sweeney. It will even add characters like Jesus, who only appears in the novel’s footnotes, and entirely new characters like a god of guns. This expansion of the ensemble would seemingly give Shadow Moon even less room than he has on the page.
But Fuller’s message highlights how Shadow will remain the focus of the show too, as it tracks his journey from a nihilist to a believer. An anti-nihilism message is just one of the many reasons that there has never been a more fitting time for the American Gods show.
There is no word at present on whether Fuller’s excellent sweater will appear onscreen in the show.
