Whoopi Goldberg has recently been seen as 108-year-old Mother Abigail in Stephen King’s The Stand, reprised her role as Guinan in Star Trek: Picard, and is set to return to her musical role of Sister Mary Clarence in Sister Act 3. Now, she is heading into darker territory by joining Neil Gaiman’s Anansi Boys on Amazon Prime Video. The 66-year-old will take on the role of the ancient deity Bird Woman, a cunning and bloodthirsty god that looks to make a dark agreement with the sons of trickster god Mr. Nancy.
For fans of Gaiman, the name of Mr. Nancy is very familiar as the character has an integral role in American Gods. However, other than sharing a name, this is a completely separate version of the character, and the two do not necessarily work side by side together. The author has a great love of mythology, and Anansi Boys draws on the same kind of historical myths that made American Gods so popular, both as a novel and, initially, on TV.
Goldberg joins The Harder They Fall star Delroy Lindo in the role of Mr. Nancy, and Roots’ Malachi Kirby in the roles of Nancy’s sons Fat Charlie and Spider. Reacting to the news of her casting, Goldberg said, “I have been a fan of this book for a very long time and when Neil Gaiman told me it was being brought to the screen, I did everything I could to be part of it to help make people aware of Anansi and all his magic.”
Whoopi Goldberg Was Always Meant to Be in Anansi Boys, According to Neil Gaiman
When authors sit down to write, they sometimes already have in mind the kind of person they would like to see playing the role if the book ever makes it to screens, and Neil Gaiman had said that he always envisioned Bird Woman as Whoopi Goldberg even before he started writing the novel. While Goldberg is the biggest name to have been added to the cast, she is part of a large cast of animal gods, which includes Emmanuel Ighodaro as Lion, Cecilia Noble as Elephant, Ayanna Witter-Johnson as Snake, Don Gilet as Monkey, and Hakeem Kae-Kazim as Tiger.
Anansi Boys has had a rocky production, having originally been set to be produced by the BBC, but now finding a home at Amazon Prime Video following the BBC’s decision to not go ahead with the project. Gaiman’s American Gods was canceled after three seasons, following a considerable drop in viewing figures between its first and final season, but in many ways that came down to the show trying to drag out the novel too much instead of just concentrating on telling Gaiman’s story. Exactly how the adaptation of Anansi Boys is received will ultimately dictate whether it makes it beyond its first six-episode season. Whether it needs much more than its six episodes to tell the tale is another question, but if it is not to suffer the same fate of American Gods, then Amazon should think carefully before looking to push audiences’ loyalty too far.