I am really looking forward to American Gods, the upcoming adaptation of Neil Gaiman’s famous book. As Preacher look set to disappoint fans everywhere, American Gods is at least on the right track. It’s being produced as a series by Starz, which does not mind edgy stuff at all, and its latest casting news demonstrates the show has the right plans in mind.
Ian McShane, best known as Al Swearengen from Deadwood, has been cast as Mr. Wednesday. This is a very important character: even though the novel’s lead is Shadow, an ex-con off to find his undead wife, much of it surrounds Mr. Wednesday, a hermit who may be up to much bigger stuff and who hires Shadow as a bodyguard. I don’t want to spoil much, other than to say that McShane is a perfect match for Wednesday.
Even Gaiman is excited about the news:
“When you write a beloved character (beloved with, or despite, or because of all his faults) like Mr. Wednesday, you get to watch the internet trying to cast the role,” Gaiman added. “I’ve seen a hundred names suggested, but few make me grin like Ian McShane does. I’ve already been lucky enough to have him in one film (he was bright blue in it, animated, and probably Polish). Now I count myself even luckier: he’s made the journey from Lovejoy to American Gods.”
Last Updated: March 7, 2016
