Amazon is set to adapt Neil Gaiman's fantasy novel, Anansi Boys.
The novel follows Charlie Nancy, a man who's used to living in the shadow of his estranged father. However, when his father dies, Charlie discovers that he was actually Anansi, the trickster god of stories. He also finds out that he has a brother named Spider, and Spider's presence in his life threatens to turn everything upside down.
Gaiman will co-write the six-episode limited series with comedian Lenny Henry and Hanelle M. Culpepper, who has previously worked on shows like Criminal Minds, Star Trek: Discovery, and Star Trek: Picard, will direct the pilot. Filming is due to start in Scotland later this year.
Despite following the escapades of the gods (dead or otherwise), the novel is a standalone story rather than a spin-off of Gaiman's book American Gods. However, Mr. Nancy – AKA Anansi – does appear in both titles. He was played by Orlando Jones in the Starz TV adaptation of American Gods, but no casting information has been released for Anansi Boys yet.
Gaiman and Henry originally developed the ideas for the book together. "Anansi Boys began around 1996, from a conversation I had with Lenny Henry about writing a story that was diverse and part of the culture that we both loved," Gaiman said in a statement. "I wrote a novel, an (I hope) joyous and funny book about a dead god and his two sons, about birds and ghosts and beasts and cops, based in Caribbean and African tales." He added: "Anansi Boys as a TV series has been a long time coming."
This isn't the first time a Gaiman novel has been adapted by Amazon, either – Good Omens, a book he co-wrote with the late Terry Pratchett, is currently an Amazon Prime series starring David Tennant and Michael Sheen as representatives of heaven and hell on Earth. It was renewed for a second season last month. Meanwhile, Gaiman's comic book series The Sandman is coming soon to Netflix, with a star-studded cast including Charles Dance and Gwendoline Christie.
