The TV adaptation of Neil Gaiman's American Gods is busy finding its cast, with Ricky Whittle and Ian McShane already aboard. Now Emily Browning, last seen in Legend, is attached to play Laura Moon.
In the novel, chronicling the struggle between the gods of old (mythological legends from around the world) and new (reflecting modern society's love for money, technology and celebrity, among other things), Shadow (Whittle), freshly released from prison, is trying to come to grips with his suddenly changing life and his connection with the Norse god Odin. McShane is Mr. Wednesday, a crafty, charismatic con man bursting with weird wisdom, strange magic and big schemes who hires Shadow as his bodyguard while on a quest to recruit others like him.
As for Laura, she's Shadow's wife, but far more than that. A complicated character in her own right, she'll go on her own journey, and from the looks of Gaiman's comments, has been given even more to do in the series. “I've been fascinated by Emily Browning since A Series Of Unfortunate Events," he says. "She has a challenge ahead of her: Laura is a tricky character, and the Laura on the screen is even trickier and more dangerous than the one on the page. She's going to have a wonderful time bringing Laura to life.”
And according to the men in charge of bringing the show to life, Michael Green and Bryan Fuller, she's the right person for the job. “You don’t need a magical coin when you have Emily Browning. She brings a fascinating spark of life to every role she inhabits and we are tickled she will be lighting up Laura Moon and bringing her to life in more ways than one on American Gods.”
The show should be on our screens next year. So far, the casting has been fantastic.