If you haven’t already heard, let me announce with great pleasure: Neil Gaiman’s American Gods and Anansi Boys are both officially being adapted as television series. Unless you’re one of the dedicated adaptation-haters—the ones that mutter angrily that Harry’s eyes are green, for the love of god, and announce to everyone that there were no elves at the Battle of Helm’s Deep—this is good news. Both these books are the kinds of action-and-witty-dialogue-filled pieces that work well on screen. Plus, Gaimain has previously refused to sell the rights to Anansi Boys because certain nameless producers wanted to whitewash his characters. So, there’s a real chance that we’ll get a genuine, author-sanctioned adaptation, and avoid the horrors of things like Legend of Earthsea and The Last Airbender.

Vin DieselChiwetel EjioforBoth these shows are in pre-pre-pre-production, so there aren’t any legitimate whiffs of casting rumors. But that’s what fans are for!  Plenty of people have already offered their suggestions. The worst suggestion I’ve heard so far is Vin Diesel as Shadow. No. Please. In the name of all that is good, American Gods should bear no relation to Fast and Furious 6.  I’ve personally got my eye on Chiwetel Ejiofor, but that might just be 12 Years a Slave stuck in my head.  And maybe we should save him for Fat Charlie Nancy or Spider.

The best side-character suggestion so far has been Christina Hendricks as Easter—although I could see her as a fairly terrifying Bilquis (her scene was…memorable). And, now that we’ve got Thor, it’s hard not to see Anthony Hopkins as a pretty decent Wednesday.

So, who would you cast as Shadow, Mr. Wednesday, Low-Key, Laura, and Mr. Nancy? And all the others in this huge, huge character list?  Or, for non-American Gods readers, what SFF book should absolutely be made into a movie, and who would you cast in it?  Someone, please fancast the VORKOSIGAN SAGA. Do it.

As always, we’ll randomly select a commenter to get a book from our stacks.

Cast away!

Author

  • Alix E. Harrow

    ALIX E. HARROW, who retired from our blog in 2014, is a part-time historian with a full-time desk job, a lot of opinions, and excessive library fines. Her short fiction has appeared in Shimmer, Strange Horizons, Tor.com, Apex, and other venues. She won a Hugo Award for her fiction in 2019. Alix and her husband live in Kentucky under the cheerful tyranny of their kids and pets. Find her at @AlixEHarrow on Twitter. Some of her favorite authors include Neil Gaiman, Ursula LeGuin, Lois McMaster Bujold, and Susanna Clarke.

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