Posted in: Amazon Studios, Preview, streaming, TV | Tagged: amazon, anansi boys, lenny henry, neil gaiman, prime video, whoopi goldberg

Anansi Boys: Whoopi Goldberg, 5 More Join Amazon Series Adapt

As production continues on author Neil Gaiman & actor/comedian Sir Lenny Henry's upcoming adaptation of Anansi Boys for Amazon's Prime Video, we've learned that Whoopi Goldberg (Star Trek: Picard) has joined the cast in a role that Gaiman describes as "going to be scary." Goldberg is set to portray Bird Woman aka The God of Birds, the embodiment of birds. But not just the more beautiful, stately avian animals, but the dangerous ones, as well. Long ago, Anansi, the African trickster God of Stories did her dirty, and now she might finally have her chance to turn the tables. Joining Goldberg are Hakeem Kae-Kazim as the dangerous Tiger, Emmanuel Ighodaro as the proud and noble Lion, Cecilia Noble as the old and wise Elephant, Ayanna Witter-Johnson as the beautiful and deadly Snake, and Don Gilet as Monkey with the short attention span. Most of them have one thing in common: they hate Anansi. Except for Monkey, who's kind of terrified of the trickster, and Lion, who just doesn't have time for him. They join a cast that includes Malachi Kirby, Delroy Lindo, Amarah-Jae St. Aubyn, Grace Saif, L. Scott Caldwell, Joy Richardson, Lachele Carl, CCH Pounder, Jason Watkins, and Fiona Shaw.

The series follows Charlie (Kirby), a young man who is used to being embarrassed by his estranged father, Mr. Nancy (Lindo). But when his father dies, Charlie discovers that his father was Anansi: the trickster god of stories. And he learns that he has a brother. Now his brother, Spider (Kirby), is entering Charlie's life, determined to make it more interesting but making it a lot more dangerous. "I wasn't able to meet her until 2018 when she interviewed me with some of the 'Good Omens' team at New York Comic Con. At which point she mentioned that she had just finished listening to Sir Lenny Henry's reading of 'Anansi Boys' and that it was one of her favorite books," Gaiman shared in a statement. "Sometimes things feel planned and inevitable, and we are incredibly lucky. She's going to be scary." Goldberg added, "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." With the series filming in Scotland, Gaiman and Henry will write along with Arvind Ethan David, Kara Smith, and Racheal Ofori. Gaiman and Douglas Mackinnon will serve as co-showrunners, with Hanelle M. Culpepper (Star Trek: Picard) directing the pilot and Jermain Julien (Grantchester) and Azhur Saleem (Doctor Who) also directing for the series. Amazon Studios, The Blank Corporation, Endor Productions, and Red Production Company will produce. Gaiman, Henry, Mackinnon, Culpepper, Hilary Bevan Jones, and Richard Fee will serve as executive producers, with Paul Frift producing. Still no word yet on when the

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