American Gods: Ian McShane cast as Mr. Wednesday

Shadow will have one intimidating Mr. Wednesday alongside him in Starz’s upcoming adaptation of American Gods.

Ian McShane will play the mysterious character Mr. Wednesday. As originally written by Neil Gaiman in American Gods, Wednesday is an enigmatic figure who contracts protagonist Shadow into working for him before opening him up to a world full of deities walking among mere mortals.

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McShane joins The 100‘s Ricky Whittle, who has been cast as Shadow, bodyguard to Mr. Wednesday. After years in prison and the death of his wife, Shadow’s new job introduces him to a war raging between old and new gods. Mr. Wednesday is in fact one of the old gods, enlisting Shadow’s help in the battle, though readers of Gaiman’s book will know in particular which higher being he is revealed to be.

American Gods is executive-produced by Bryan Fuller and Michael Green, with David Slade set to direct the pilot. The Deadwood actor will also soon be seen returning to HBO for a mysterious role in the sixth season of Game of Thrones.