Neil Gaiman reveals that he is officially developing a series adaptation of his bestselling 2005 fantasy novel Anansi Boys for Amazon Prime. The story centers on Mr. Nancy, an incarnation of the titular West African trickster god, as he dies in an embarrassing fashion and leaves behind twin sons, who discover one another's existence after being separated as young children and set out on an adventure to explore their heritage. Anansi Boys shares the character of Mr. Nancy with Gaiman's previous novel, American Gods, though it isn't generally referred to as a sequel.
Development on a screen adaptation of Anansi Boys has been in the works in some capacity since the BBC released a one-hour radio adaptation of the novel in 2007, much to Gaiman's displeasure. Initially eyeing a potential film, Gaiman began working with the BBC for a miniseries adaptation in 2014 that quietly died and borrowed some elements for Starz's adaptation of American Gods. Another radio adaptation was released in 2017, which Gaiman enjoyed much more than the previous one. Having found success with Amazon for the Michael Sheen and David Tennant-led Good Omens series, word began swirling about an Anansi Boys series at the streaming platform last year and it appears the rumors were true.
Nearly a month after the revelation he would be developing Good Omens season 2 for the streaming platform, Gaiman has taken to Twitter to confirm he is working with Amazon Prime to develop a series adaptation of Anansi Boys. The author shared the news with a concept poster for the fantasy series. Check out the poster and Gaiman's announcement below:
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Though films like Coraline and Stardust worked as translations of his works, recent years have finally seen the bizarre worlds of Gaiman see the proper light of day on the small screen. Between the irreverently hilarious Good Omens to the progressively better American Gods, the expansive scope put forth by Gaiman in the pages of his novels does beg for the extended runtime television necessitates and a streaming platform makes for an even better home to keep from any dilution of his material. Moreover, having Gaiman set to write the series himself alongside British comic Sir Lenny Henry, who portrayed Anansi in the 2017 radio series adaptation of the novel and narrated the audiobook, makes for an even more promising start.
Looking at his previous work with Amazon on Good Omens and their ongoing relationship for season 2 of the apocalyptic fantasy comedy, Gaiman seems to have found a good home with the streaming platform. Though Orlando Jones, who played Mr. Nancy in American Gods, was fired from the show after season 2 and seems unlikely to reprise his role, Gaiman is sure to bring Anansi Boys to life properly on screen. Plus, with The Sandman finally set at Netflix and in production, fans of the author's works have plenty to look forward to.
Source: Neil Gaiman/Twitter