American Gods axed by Starz, but send-off TV movie or event series still possible

American Gods is no more... for now.

Starz has officially canceled the fantasy series based on Neil Gaiman's 2001 novel amidst declining ratings following a three-season run, the network confirmed to Deadline.

"Everyone at Starz is grateful to the dedicated cast and crew, and our partners at Fremantle who brought author and executive producer Neil Gaiman’s ever-relevant story to life that speaks to the cultural climate of our country," a network rep told the trade.

The timing is unfortunate given that American Gods, which was created for television by Bryan Fuller (Hannibal) and Michael Green and led by a cast including Ricky Whittle, Emily Browning, and Ian McShane, aired its Season 3 finale on March 21. That episode featured a surprise plot twist with Shadow Moon (Whittle) seemingly dying in Lakeside in a vigil where he's tied to a tree and Mr. Wednesday, aka Old God Odin (McShane), using his blood sacrifice to restore himself to his former glory to take on the New Gods.

Quite a tragic note to end on.

The good news, however, is that Deadline reports that there are ongoing internal discussions about a possible American Gods TV movie or event series to wrap up loose ends story-wise.

A rep from Starz was unavailable for comment.

Aside from the ratings slide, American Gods has suffered behind the scenes turmoil over the last two seasons. Both Fuller and Green stepped down as showrunners from the dark fantasy adaptation in November 2017 following the first season's broadcast, citing budgetary and creative differences with producer Freemantle Media.

They were replaced by Jesse Alexander with help from Gaiman, who served as executive producer. However, Alexander departed six months later leaving the drama without a creative head. Producer Charles Eglee came on board as showrunner for the third and final season, which premiered on Jan. 10. He and Gaiman were reportedly whipping up plans for the fourth season which, alas, won't be happening.

While American Gods is fated for oblivion (for now), Gaiman fans can at least find solace knowing the famed author is currently hard at work on a Netflix show based on his comic book series The Sandman, which is now in production.