“Deadwood” alum Ian McShane has been cast in Starz’s adaptation of Neil Gaiman’s “American Gods.”

McShane will play the key role of Mr. Wednesday opposite Ricky Whittle’s Shadow Moon. The plot centers around Shadow, an ex-con who becomes bodyguard and traveling partner to the enigmatic Mr. Wednesday, as the pair become drawn into a battle between the old gods of ancient mythology, and the new gods of money, media and technology.

Production on the series begins in April in Toronto. Bryan Fuller and Michael Green (who worked with McShane on NBC’s shortlived but critically acclaimed “Kings”) serve as executive producers, writers and showrunners on the series. Gaiman will also write episodes of the hotly-anticipated adaptation.

McShane most recently appeared on Showtime’s “Ray Donovan” and has a mystery role in Season 6 of HBO’s “Game of Thrones.” He previously earned a Golden Globe nomination for his role in the Starz miniseries “The Pillars of the Earth.”

“American Gods” is produced by FremantleMedia North America for Starz. Fuller’s frequent “Hannibal” helmer David Slade is set to direct the pilot and additional episodes. FMNA’s Craig Cegielski and Stefanie Berk are exec producing the series along with Fuller, Green, Slade and Gaiman. SVP of original programming Ken Segna is the Starz executive in charge of “American Gods.” Starz retains all network pay TV and SVOD rights to the project, and FremantleMedia is distributing the series worldwide.

Fuller is also showrunning CBS’ new “Star Trek” revival series for the network’s All Access streaming service.