‘American Gods’ at Comic-Con: Even More Epic Than the Book

There’s no easy way to summarize American Gods, Starz’s upcoming, ultra-ambitious adaptation of Neil Gaiman’s genre-defying novel. But allow executive producer Bryan Fuller to give it a try: “It’s Clash of the Titans via The Grifters,” teases the Hannibal creator in Yahoo TV’s sit-down with the cast and crew. But the Comic-Con crowds apparently didn’t require any explanation to be excited for American Gods; when the trailer debuted in San Diego yesterday, reaction was uniformly positive, as evidenced by breathless Tweets like these:

Gaiman and fellow executive producer Michael Green joined Fuller in the Yahoo TV studio, and were equally thrilled by the show’s positive reception, especially following the arduous process of getting it from the page to the screen. Casting was a particularly difficult challenge, one that star Ricky Whittle compares to being a contestant on American Idol.

The producers were at least able to take comfort in knowing that Gaiman had their back throughout the long search. And the author was particularly excited at the prospect of expanding the book’s point of view to encompass all the big and small gods — like fan favorite Mad Sweeney — that populate his version of Earth.

With this team at the helm, American Gods is shaping up to be a positively spiritual experience.

American Gods premieres in 2017 on Starz