American Gods for HBO, Gaiman plans sequel

Fantasy novelist Neil Gaiman is to turn his bestseller American Gods into a series for American cable channel HBO.

He told an audience at the Edinburgh International Book Festival that he would start work in "a couple of weeks" on the show, adapted from the novel which celebrates its 10th anniversary this year.

Gaiman also revealed that he is planning a sequel to the book, and "at least two" shorter spin-offs including the novel’s main protagonist Shadow, the Guardian reports.

The director of the HBO series will be Oscar-winning cinematographer Robert Robinson, known for his work on Tarantino films "Kill Bill" and "Inglourious Basterds". Actor Tom Hanks’ production company Plavtone will produce.

Gaiman said: "They've made a lot of series for HBO and they seem really smart and they love it for what it is and don't want to soften it… Over the years I've had phone calls from major directors or major actors. They say, 'I want to make it into a movie' and I say, 'Great. How?'"

He added: "I want to keep races and nationalities. I don't want it to become softened and homogenised, and I want it to be prickly."

Headline Review recently published a 10th anniversary edition of American Gods.