Ricky Whittle, who plays Lincoln in The CW drama The 100, has joined the cast of American Gods , Starz has announced.

Ricky Whittle

Whittle will play the central character Shadow Moon in the upcoming adaptation of Neil Gaiman's beloved fantasy novel."I'm thrilled that Ricky has been cast as Shadow. His auditions were remarkable," Gaiman said in a statement. The acclaimed author went on to confirm "the process of taking a world out of the pages of a book, and putting it onto the screen has begun."American Gods writers and showrunners Michael Green and Bryan Fuller (Hannibal) also spoke to Whittle's casting, saying, via press release, "We searched every continent and country and all the islands in between for our Shadow Moon, and we are lucky to have found Ricky. Fans of the novel will find he has every bit of the heart of the character they fell in love with."For those unfamiliar with the book, American Gods centers around a war between old and new gods. Ex-con Shadow Moon joins up with an older god named Mr. Wednesday, as the two embark "on a cross-country mission to gather his forces in preparation to battle the new deities."American Gods will begin filming in April with Hannibal director David Slade onboard to direct

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