HBO is moving forward on a series adaptation of Neil Gaiman's novel American Gods, which will be produced through Tom Hanks and Gary Goetzman's Playtone production banner, the company behind the now-concluded HBO series Big Love.

Robert Richardson, who brought the idea to Playtone, will pen the pilot script along with Neil Gaiman. The story follows a battle between two different God-like factions.

One set of Gods is based on myths and legends who became real because the human race believed in them at one time. They're starting to disappear, and are being replace by a new set of Gods that are a manifestation of America's preoccupation with technology, celebrity, the media, and drugs.

The main character will be an ex-con who gets mixed up in this war when he unwittingly decided to join a conman who turns out to be a dieing deity gathering troops for the final battle.

There is no production start date, and it is unclear when American Gods will make its debut on HBO.