The series will launch exclusively on Amazon Prime for viewers in the UK, Germany, Austria and Japan in 2017.

The show boasts an all-star cast including Ricky Whittle (The 100, Austenland), Ian McShane (Pirates of the Carribbean), Emily Browning (Legend), Gillian Anderson (The X Files, The Fall) and Kristen Chenoweth (Glee, Wicked).

American Gods tells the story of a war brewing between the old gods and the new. Whittle stars as protagonist ex-con Shadow Moon, who is working for the mysterious Mr Wednesday (McShane) on a trans-American mission.

The show uncovers the explosive and bloody power struggle between the traditional gods and a new pantheon of upstarts who reflect society’s love of money, technology, media, celebrity and drugs.

Gillian Anderson plays Media, the mouthpiece of the New Gods, while Demore Barnes is Mr Ibis and Chenoweth plays the flighty Easter.

FreemantleMedia International CEO Jens Richter said “With a team of such visionaries bringing this epic novel to life, the American Gods series has already been the cause of much excitement”, while Amazon’s Brad Beale added that the show “joins our roster of exciting, high-quality original and exclusive shows for our Prime members including, this year, the highly anticipated The Grand Tour, Mr. Robot, Preacher, Lucifer and the return of The Man in the High Castle.”

This is not the first time Gaiman's work has been adapted for the screen. His novels Coraline and Stardust have both been turned into successful feature films, and his novel Neverwhere was turned into a popular BBC series. He has also written episodes of Doctor Who and films including 2005's MirrorMask