There’s been a lot of movement of late regarding Bryan Fuller‘s adaptation of Neil Gaiman‘s American Gods of late, with Emily Browning, Crispin Glover, Jonathan Tucker, and several other actors cast in the show. But Fuller–who also created genre favorites Pushing Daisies and Hannibal–is nothing if not loyal to his various casts, and on Friday, Deadline reported that Hannibal and The X-Files star Gillian Anderson has been cast as the pivotal character Media, who acts as the mouthpiece for the New Gods of the series.
Anderson has been one of the best actors working since the 1990s and she’s only gotten more in-demand in recent years, thanks to her roles in British programs like The Fall and the miniseries-restart of The X-Files. She played Dr. Bedelia Du Maurier, the psychiatrist/victim/acolyte of the titular cannibal in NBC’s Hannibal, going from guest star to recurring character to series regular in the course of the three seasons. She can play both good and evil incredibly ably, which will suit her very well as Media in American Gods.
Media is the ever-perky spokeswoman for the New Gods, who uses people’s worship of technology, TV screens, laptops, iPhones, etc to gain power and influence. She’s a spin-doctor, making sure every story has a positive slant for her “clients,” who are in an unseen war with the Elder Gods of mythology. The main plot of the series will focus on Shadow Moon (Ricky Whittle) who has been hired to escort and drive Mr. Wednesday (Ian McShane) across the desert. Wednesday is, of course, one of the Old Gods looking to reestablish dominance. Great premise, no?
As for everything Fuller does–and Anderson for that matter–we’re waiting for the premiere of American Gods with baited breath. It will premiere on Starz sometime in 2017. Meanwhile, Fuller’s other show–a little thing called the Star Trek reboot–is also slated for release by the end of the year. More Bryan Fuller! More we say!
Let us know what you think about Gillian Anderson’s casting in the comments below!
Image: NBC
Kyle Anderson is the associate editor for Nerdist. Follow him on Twitter!
