Highly anticipated Starz series American Gods premiered at South by Southwest Film Festival in Austin, Texas, on Saturday. The long-awaited adaptation of Neil Gaiman’s 2001 novel played to a packed house. Organizers even brought in extra chairs to squeeze in a few more fans.
#americangods premier screening @sxsw ? #sxsw ?here we go… @AmericanGodsSTZ @GodsOnAmazon pic.twitter.com/xUAFOZRS27
— Bruce Langley (@BruceJLangley) March 11, 2017
Bryan Fuller and Michael Green produce the show. Ricky Whittle stars as Shadow Moon, a convict who gets released a few days early when his wife Laura (Emily Browning) suddenly dies. On his flight home, a stranger calling himself Mr. Wednesday (Ian McShane) hires him as a bodyguard for a mysterious job he hasn’t quite explained yet. Shadow will find out that he is embroiled in nothing less than a war between gods!
Rotten Tomatoes spoke with fans after the screening, and followed the response on Twitter from both fans who’ve read Gaiman’s book and those who went in blind. Below are some of our favorite reactions.
Be sure to read Rotten Tomatoes’ interview with Fuller and Green here.
Cheyenne (right) and Jo (left) Koerth were both fans of the book and were pleased by the adaptation’s diverse cast.
“I loved the expansion of the female characters,” Cheyenne said. “I thought that was awesome.”
Jo added, “I’m really excited to see the different ethnicities of characters. That Shadow wasn’t the white guy was really exciting.”
On Twitter, fans also appreciated the updates made for 2017; for example, Technical Boy (Bruce Langley) has a more virtual reality–friendly surprise for Shadow when they first meet.
#AmericanGods is the real deal. Very faithful to the book with a good update to modern times. @ianmcshane is amazing #SXSW
— Chris Morris (@MorrisatLarge) March 11, 2017
wow, #AmericanGods: gorgeous, unsettling, irreverently funny, faithful to the open-road spirit of the book. #SXSW
— Melissa Leon (@MelissaHLeon) March 11, 2017
American Gods the series may be more graphic than even Gaiman’s words suggest. It opens with a bloody ancient battle among gods stranded on a beach and includes a graphic supernatural sex scene. Still, the fans appreciated the beauty of those extreme images.
Zontee Hou, who’s normally sensitive to blood and gore, found herself moved by the show’s images.
“I thought it was really beautifully shot,” Hou said. “I’m not normally a fan of over-the-top violence, but in the same way as Kill Bill, Tarantino’s usage of the blood bathing over the people, there’s a scene where the blood shoots over Shadow. I actually found that very compelling. It was kind of over the top and a little gross, but also really cool.”
Kate Parsons also read the book and recognized some of the images in Shadow’s dreams.
“The special effects were pretty great, what I think is supposed to be the World Tree, and the buffalo,” Parsons said.
More fans heaped praise on the trippy visuals of American Gods on social media.
#AmericanGods is the most gorgeous TV show I've ever seen! Super excited to see the rest in April! 😀
— Colby Natal (@Ironfilmstudios) March 11, 2017
American Gods. Less a TV show than an acid trip with a narrative. Will be the most original thing on TV. Amazing. #sxsw @neilhimself
— SAAKeT DUBeY (@SAAKeTDUBeY) March 11, 2017
Some fans came to the new series purely as a fan of Fuller, who with American Gods, expands his portfolio of weird and wonderful TV, including Hannibal, Dead Like Me, and Pushing Daisies.
.@BryanFuller raises the bar with AMERICAN GODS. A great show with mystery, action, wit & incredible visuals. New TV obsession @STARZ #SXSW
— Rob Dean (@neuroticmonkey) March 11, 2017
Ben Vance (pictured with Kate Parsons below) found the show full of surprises.
“Bryan Fuller is amazing,” Vance said. “Just watching that, I was blown away. The directing is incredible. I didn’t know what to expect from one moment to the next, so it was really fun.”
Fans in the crowd were excited to see the stars of American Gods up close.
Yes folks it's Ian McShane three seats from me at the amazing #AmericanGods premiere pic.twitter.com/FC1ypQ472R
— KickingCatfish (@kickingcatfish) March 11, 2017
World premiere of #AmericanGods at #SXSW! (Moderated by @LauInLA!)
Room loved 1st episode…it's a mindf*ck but in the best way possible. pic.twitter.com/Ci3p1LgtKD
— Elizabeth Wagmeister (@EWagmeister) March 11, 2017
#AmericanGods stars Ricky Whittle and Ian McShane discussing how the story is about immigration and its relevance to today. #SXSW pic.twitter.com/4NN5tniBGq
— Anya Crittenton (@anyacrittenton) March 11, 2017
"I just saw a woman suck a while man into a vagina. I don't have much to say" – Orlando Jones a scene in the pilot @AmericanGodsSTZ pic.twitter.com/csXAeYE5b2
— Boom Howdy (@BoomHowdy) March 11, 2017
Bruce Langley aka Technical Boy asks the #AmericanGods audience who has a smartphone: "Thank you for your worship." #SXSW pic.twitter.com/zyrYHxeoUT
— Anya Crittenton (@anyacrittenton) March 11, 2017
Just a few of our gods here at #SXSW. #AmericanGods pic.twitter.com/4BYVERKyjX
— American Gods (@AmericanGodsSTZ) March 11, 2017
And there is the @AmericanGodsSTZ cast and crew! #AmericanGods #SXSW Just saw first episode. ? pic.twitter.com/8bsWrWpIsX
— Sarah Ksiazek (@alphadawg7) March 11, 2017
.@AmericanGodsSTZ Directors and Cast at #SXSW pic.twitter.com/MWVZIhBkOl
— Sara (@SaraSorrentino) March 11, 2017
As satisfied as the fans were by the first hour of American Gods, it only left them wanting more.
“I’m waiting to see the development of the characters that we didn’t get a chance to meet yet,” Cheyenne Koerth said. “Just the interplay of those characters who we met already, and how they’re going to adapt such an expansive novel to a TV format and how they’re going to keep book people guessing as we go through.”
Laura only appeared as a voice on the phone and a dead body in the premiere, so Jo Koerth is waiting to see more of her.
“I really want to see Laura Moon,” she said. “She was one of my favorite characters.”
Kate Parsons felt the casting was perfect and can’t wait to see them continue their roles.
“I’m a big fan of the cast, so I’m really excited to see what they did with Ian McShane, seeing what they do with Mr. Wednesday,” Parsons said. “They were talking about really strengthening some of the female characters as well and that’s really exciting.”
Met Mr Nancy from @AmericanGodsSTZ #AmericanGods #Starz pic.twitter.com/qIZtuCK8jb
— Roxy Castillo (@PuglyRoxy) March 11, 2017
Hou feels she got a sense of where the show was going based on where it begins.
“Each of the individual journeys is very intriguing,” Hou said. “I think you see a lot of opportunity for development of each of them. The interplay with Shadow and Mr. Wednesday and the side characters they’re introducing, you just say, ‘Ooh, I want to know more about who that person is.’”
American Gods premieres April 30 at 9 p.m. on Starz
