If you haven't heard of Neil Gaiman, he is a notable author of comic books and speculative fiction books who has inspired the DC Comics character Sandman, as well as popular films such as Stardust and Coraline.  In 2001, he wrote a work called American Gods, and the book received many awards.  It will now be a series on Starz, and it promises to be something in the vein of Preacher with an epic scale close to Game of Thrones.  This is what is known about American Gods release date and cast. 

There are some shots of the set on iO9 which focuses on Ian McShane as Mr. Wednesday, Ricky Whittle as Shadow Moon , and Pablo Schreiber as Mad Sweeney.  The picture, which is from Entertainment Weekly, shows the characters in a fight in front of Jack's Crocodile Bar.  This is apparently a scene from the book where Shadow Moon, a recent ex-convict, meets Mr. Wednesday, a man of mystery that is revealed to be Odin, the ancient Norse god. 

Some of you might recognize Ian McShane from his many roles such as Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides and Kung Fu Panda, and is a good choice to play the lead Norse god.  Lead character Ricky Whittle is relative newcomer for the lead, and Pablo Schreiber is most well-known for his role as Pornstache from Orange Is The New Black.  There are a lot of other well-known actors in the cast including Gillian Anderson, Emily Browning, Peter Stormare, Crispin Glover, and Cloris Leachman, according to the imdb page. 

If you are not familiar with the concept of American Gods, it is a novel that shows that gods as well as other mythical creatures exist because people simply believe in them.  Some of the older gods, such as Odin, are starting to wane in power because they are being replaced by others.  There are now new modern gods like The Technical Boy and Media, who are in power of more modern concepts. 

There is a lot of potential for this series, and it is no wonder that Starz wanted it.  It seems that a lot of cable networks are trying for epic series that deal directly with controversial subject matter and don't have to worry about censored scenes.  Unlike Game of Thrones, The Walking Dead, or Preacher, the book American Gods is not a series of books or graphic novels, but it is only one book.  So, I'm not certain how many seasons can be milked from this concept. 

The show is produced by Bryan Fuller, who has had a lot of experience dealing with surreal speculative landscapes.  He created Pushing Daisies, a short-lived show about a man that could bring people back from the dead that was part mystery, part drama, part fantasy, and an excellent mix.  It really should have lasted longer, but Fuller believes that he has the tone that Gaiman had for his award-winning novel. 

American Gods is set to hit Starz on next year, but there isn't really any word on a specific date.