Today at New York Comic Con, Starz hosted a panel for the upcoming second season of its fantasy show American Gods, and showed off our first look at what’s to come in the show when it returns in 2019.
The trailer shows off the continuing story of Gaiman’s novel, which looks to be picking up even more fantastic elements — and gods, old and new —as Shadow (Ricky Whittle) and Mr. Wednesday (Ian McShane) continue their road trip across America. Also teased is the pending clash between the old gods of mankind’s past and the new gods, like Media and Technology, of the future. But mostly, American Gods seems content to just show off all the returning players from season one, which will have to suffice to tide fans over for now.
Some additional details about season two also emerged in the panel, including some welcome diversity behind the scenes: the majority of season two directors are women, and Sam Crow, the queer First Nation girl from Gaiman’s book, will actually played by a queer First Nation actress this season.
The show hit a number of significant bumps after it completed its first season last year: while it was expected to return in 2018 following a second season pickup, showrunners Michael Green and Bryan Fuller left due to issues over the budget. Several months later, Starz said that Jesse Alexander and American Gods author Neil Gaiman would step into the showrunner role. Last month, Alexander himself was pushed out amid delays.