American Gods set to replace Gillian Anderson’s role for Season 2

Last Updated on August 2, 2021

Back in January, it was announced that Gillian Anderson would be leaving both THE X-FILES and AMERICAN GODS. As a mass of "believers" bemoaned Anderson's decision to bid farewell to her role as Agent Dana Scully for the long-running sci-fi series, the actress was more than prepared to state her reasons for the departure by saying: 

"It's time for me to hang up Scully's hat. It just is. I'm finished, and that's the end of that. I arrived at the decision before we did the previous six, but I was really curious. I felt that the previous six was going to be it. It was dipping our toe back in again … and getting to play these wonderful characters again. I think as [series creator] Chris [Carter] has said himself, that short stack of episodes felt like we were learning how to walk again and that this season of 10 feels like the pace is up and we're running. I wouldn't necessarily have been happy if those six were how we said goodbye. … There's lots of things that I want to do in my life and in my career and it's been an extraordinary opportunity and extraordinary character and I am hugely grateful."

While Anderson's exit from THE X-FILES will undoubetedly change the face of the series going forward, fans of Neil Gaiman's AMERICAN GODS were also left feeling disgruntled upon learning that the HANNIBAL actress would not be returning to Starz's wonderfully weird (and highly erotic) fantasy program. The story goes that after dropping the X-Files-related hammer, Anderson also confessed that she's "not doing any more American Gods. Bryan and Michael Green aren't either, as has been announced." In truth, this was my cue to wail and moan about Anderson stepping away from a project, as her New God Media character was one of my favorites from the show's debut season.

Fast-forward to today, to where we find TVLine reporting that Anderson's New God Media character will be replaced when AMERICAN GODS returns for its Season 2 bow. According to TVLine, the show is searching for a 20-something, Asian woman to play the series-regular part, which symbolizes the role of social media in modern American life. At its core, the character is the godly embodiment of our ever-thriving pop culture and social media thinkspace. Starz has yet to comment on any updates concerning the new role, so please take this news with a grain of salt until confirmations roll through.

The announcement of Anderson's departure from AMERICAN GODS came just six weeks after co-showrunners Bryan Fuller and Michael Green left the show due to creative differences with producer Fremantle over the length and direction of Season 2. Now, former HANNIBAL executive producer Jesse Alexander will serve as Season 2’s co-showrunner alongside author Neil Gaiman, the multi-award-winning novelist and creator of the AMERICAN GODS storyline. Production for the program's second season is expected to begin in May of this year.

Who would you like to see cast in the New God Media role? Personally, I'd really like to see SENSE8's Doona Bae take the character on. She has a truly commanding screen presence that I feel would lend well to the show's diverse cast of gods, demons, and criminals. I know that she's not a 20-something actress, but dammit, she'd be perfect for the part nontheless. Let us know who you'd cast in the comments section below.