If Starz’s American Gods had to part ways with showrunners Bryan Fuller and Michael Green, novel writer Neil Gaiman would be high on the list of acceptable replacements. That may not come to pass, but there’s some good news that could place Season 2 in line for a 2018 premiere after all.

It was late Wednesday that word broke of Fuller and co-creator Green leaving American Gods, ostensibly over budgetary and creative differences with studio FremantleMedia. The cast has reportedly been informed of the duo’s departure as well. No replacement for Fuller and Green has yet been named, though Deadline reports that more than half of Season 2’s scripts had been completed, with an exact episode order still uncertain.

Season 2 production had been projected at Game of Thrones heights of $10 million per episode, and some have floated that American Gods author Neil Gaiman could take over showrunner duties to lower costs. Gaiman himself denies as much, however, noting that his work abroad on Amazon’s Good Omens precludes any additional involvement in Season 2:

At the very least, Gaiman remains confident Season 2 will still happen:

That said, when? Losing its primary creative force is a major blow, and it seems increasingly less likely Season 2 might make an initially-projected mid-2018 premiere date. Deadline seems confident that a majority of written scripts leave 2018 on the table, though Starz was previously unwilling to commit to any Season 2 premiere date, long before details of Fuller and Green’s exit surfaced.

It isn’t entirely clear what creative or budgetary changes might take place, but will Season 2 production end up as tumultuous as Season 1? Will anyone else follow Green and Fuller out the door?

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