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"American Gods," an award-winning book by famed English author Neil Gaiman, will soon hit TV screens thanks to Starz. The TV adaptation of the novel will premiere at South by Southwest's (SXSW) annual film festival.

CBR has revealed that the first episode of "American Gods" will screen at SXSW 2017. While the dates and times for the screening are still unknown, more details will soon be available in the coming days.

The premiere episode of "American Gods" was directed by David Slade, who also helmed the film "30 Days of Night." Slade also directed several episodes of TV shows such as "Breaking Bad," "Hannibal," and "Powers."

Screen Rant reports that like the novel it is based on, the TV adaptation of "American Gods" will focus on Shadow Moon, who will be portrayed by Ricky Whittle ("The 100"). Shadow has been imprisoned for assault but he is released early following the sudden death of his wife Laura, portrayed by Emily Browning ("A Series of Unfortunate Events," "Sucker Punch"), due to a car accident.

On his way to the funeral, Shadow meets the mysterious Mr. Wednesday, portrayed by Ian McShane ("Game of Thrones," "Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides"). Unbeknownst to Shadow, Mr. Wednesday is, in fact, the god Odin, and he wants Shadow's help in recruiting Old Gods as they prepare for a final showdown against the more powerful New Gods scattered all over America.

According to Screen Rant, Gaiman will also be "heavily involved" in the TV adaptation of his novel. This is surely reassuring for fans who are worried that this latest adaptation of the writer's work will deviate from the "American Gods" novel.

It was also revealed that Gaiman has also created a new character exclusively for the show- Vulcan (whose Greek counterpart is Hephaestus), the Roman god of fire and metalworking. Vulcan will be portrayed by actor Corbin Bernsen ("L.A. Law," "Psych"). The show's version of Vulcan will now be "the god of guns."

There are no official announcements yet about "Anansi Boys," the sequel to Gaiman's "American Gods," being included in the plot for Starz' upcoming show. However, it is possible that the sequel to the novel could be incorporated in the second season of "American Gods."

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