Mr. Wednesday, meet your new bodyguard.

Ricky Whittle (The 100) has been cast as Shadow Moon, the lead character in Starz’s upcoming Bryan Fuller/Michael Green-led adaptation of Neil Gaiman’s novel American Gods, the network announced Thursday.

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In the wildly popular fantasy story, Shadow is a recently released convict who falls into a job as muscle/road-trip partner for a mysterious man — the aforementioned Mr. Wednesday. As the two men travel the United States, Shadow becomes aware that a war is imminent between the country’s old gods (think: ancient mythology) and its new ones (think: modern technology) — and that his part in the proceedings has been predestined.

In Gaiman’s book, Shadow is from the Midwest; a statement released by the author seems to indicate that Whittle, who hails from the United Kingdom, will use his native accent in the series.

“American Gods is, at its heart, a book about immigrants, and it seems perfectly appropriate that Shadow will, like so much else, be coming to America,” Gaiman said. “I’m delighted Ricky will get to embody Shadow. Now the fun starts.”

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Whittle currently plays Lincoln on The CW’s The 100; no word yet on how his role on that series will be affected by the American Gods gig. His other TV credits include Mistresses, NCIS, Single Ladies and the British soap Hollyoaks.

American Gods readers, how do you feel about Whittle’s casting? The 100 fans, are you worried for Lincoln’s future? Sound off in the comments!