American Gods likely already renewed for season 3
If you’re a fan of American Gods on Starz, then we have some good news for you: Deadline is reporting the show is close to getting renewed for a third season, and this before its second has even started. “We didn’t make Season 2 of American Gods not to make a Season 3,” said Deadline’s source. “It’s a big book.”
At 465 pages, it is decidedly not a “big book” — A Game of Thrones has 694 pages and HBO still managed to adapt that in one season, not three — but maybe we’re just splitting hairs at this point. Anyway, the source says Starz is looking for a new showrunner for season 3, someone who can bring the season in on time and/or under budget. The show has had a revolving door of showrunners so far, so at least they’re staying consistent there.
In addition to the showrunner turnover, there were also reports that the season 2 finale script was rejected more than six times, which delayed filming to the point where the actors began writing in their own dialogue. To say that production has been a mess, is downplaying it.
Speaking at a recent Television Critics Association event, Ian McShane (Mr. Wednesday) said season 2 is a “great way back to the book,” which he thought they got away from in season 1. “We needed to get back to Shadow and Laura. I think Season 2 does that. Gaiman wrote a great blueprint that can go wherever it goes so long as you stay true to the spirit. It’s not Harry Potter or Marvel.”
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All the same, there will be deviations, particularly as regards “the invented, more dominant stories of Laura, Sweeney, and Bilquis. If you read the book, when one door closes, another opens. Nothing is as it seems. All the characters believe.”
Neil Gaiman himself was also at the event. He made allusions to actors from the first season — Gillian Anderson as the New God Media and Kristin Chenoweth as the Old God Easter — reportedly leaving the cast for season 1:
"Somewhere up the line, we meet Easter again. If it’s Kristin [Chenoweth], we’ll see. We yanked her early for Season 1. We’ll work it out. There was no plan for Easter. For Media, we were trying to look at New Media. Media as Gillian [Anderson] was glorious, but it didn’t feel relevant to anyone under 25 who is interested in New Media. It’s beautiful but already feels like something that is being overtaken."
Gaiman also talked a bit about Mad Sweeney (Pablo Schreiber). There’s one episode that will dig into the details of his very long, 6,000-year life. “It’s not easy being the tallest leprechaun in Ireland. It was wonderful to get involved with that story. I had a lot of backstory from the book I didn’t get to tell, and now we do. It’s not in the book, but I think people who love the book will enjoy it.”
We can also expect a deep dive into Mr. Nancy’s (Orlando Jones ) past. “Meeting Nancy on a slave ship was an interesting beginning,” said actor Orlando Jones. “For him, his worshippers are dying, and he’s looking for a way to change that. He wants to get himself a queen, and that’s Bilquis.”
"You can’t have a war without a queen, so that aspect is about getting her to his side. It’s also romantic. He’s from the Ashanti people of Ghana. It’s a matriarchy, he can’t be thinking about how significant this queen is, and that’s his drive this season."
It sounds like they’ve put more thought into each god. My thought is that season 2 will turn out better than season 1, even if it doesn’t sound like we’re going to reach the end of the book quite yet.
American Gods season 2 premieres on March 10, only on Starz.
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h/t SyFy Wire