Because Neil Gaiman’s sprawling fantasy epic American Gods was published 15 years before its upcoming television adaptation, it naturally has certain elements that won’t age well — like its depiction of the god of technology, aka Technology Boy. But as showrunners Bryan Fuller and Michael Green explained in a recent interview, they have updated the character very deliberately.
Bryan Fuller said,
“It felt like there was an evolution of the technical savvy individual that was portrayed in the novel, which was written 15 years ago. The book sort of describes the quintessential overweight hacker that Donald Trump was shielding the Russians with. Now technology is much more socialized than it was 15 years ago. We see the integration of technology and all these other industries, particularly fashion. So we felt like it’d be an interesting evolution of the character if he was as fashion forward as he was tech savvy.”
In Neil Gaiman’s novel, Technology Boy looks a lot like Comic Book Guy from The Simpsons. But in American Gods, Bruce Langley’s portrayal will look more like a YouTube or Instagram star, complete with trendy hair and sneakers. His role in the story, however, remains the same, as one of the New Gods who is going to war with the Old Gods like Odin and Easter and a newly added Jesus and Vulcan, God of Guns. Much like the trucker-looking Mad Sweeney, who has been given a hipster aesthetic, Technology boy has deftly changed to fit the times. The show has a solid enough blueprint from Neil Gaiman’s novel that it could easily rest on its laurels but instead its adjusting itself to be as smart and relevant as possible on the TV medium.
Shadow and Mad Sweeney in 'American Gods'
American Gods will premiere April 30 on Starz.
