If you watched previous American Gods previews and thought, “Hmm, that’s not nearly as bloody as I’d have guessed a show from Bryan Fuller would be,” Starz has just released a new trailer that should quench your thirst. Battle lines are drawn in this clip, as Wednesday (Ian McShane) enlists Shadow Moon (Ricky Whittle) in his fight against the New Gods, led by Crispin Glover’s Mr. World. We glimpse several old and new deities played by Yetide Badaki, Peter Stormare, Cloris Leachman (who’s actually more of a keeper of the stars than she is a god, per se), and the world’s tallest leprechaun (Pablo Schreiber). And, as we already mentioned, there’s lots and lots of blood, gushing from bodies being sliced in half or pulverized by Stormare’s Slavic god. Orlando Jones is also on hand as Mr. Nancy (a.k.a Anansi), whose arrival on American shores is similarly fraught.
But aside from assuring fans that this will be a suitably gory war, the new trailer shows Fuller’s trademark fusion of horror, comedy, and fantasy in all its glory. We’ve previously noted the pitch-perfect casting of McShane and Kristin Chenoweth, the latter of whom plays Easter. Meanwhile, Glover displays the same disquieting composure he had in the Charlie’s Angels movies, and well, everyday life, which suggests that this won’t be such an easy war for Wednesday & Co. to win. The leader of the Old Gods seems very much aware of that when he says “it will be glorious, win or lose.”
American Gods premieres April 30 on Starz.