Amazon’s Good Omens has cast Benedict Cumberbatch in the role of Satan while simultaneously revealing the show’s official premiere date. The award-winning actor has already played a dragon, Sherlock Holmes, and Doctor Strange but his upcoming role will be his most nefarious yet.
Cumberbatch has been particularly busy as of late. In 2018 alone he lent his voice to not one but two projects, Imagination’s The Grinch, and Netflix’s Jungle Book adaptation Mowgli, directed by fellow Hobbit co-star Andy Serkis – not to mention reprising his role as Sorcerer Supreme, Doctor Strange, in the Marvel blockbuster Avengers: Infinity War and the 5-part limited series Patrick Melrose for Showtime. Good Omens is another surprising credit on this already busy actor’s roster for 2019.
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Reported by Deadline, Gaiman announced at the Television Critics Association winter press tour that Benedict Cumberbatch will provide the voice of the show’s animated Satan. Gaiman said that Cumberbatch’s Prince of Darkness will be “a giant, animated Satan” who appears “400 foot high.” This incarnation of the Dark Lord will appear in the series’ sixth episode. It was at the TCA that Deadline also reported that Amazon revealed all six episodes of the highly anticipated limited series will be made available on Friday, May 31. Confirmation of the show’s release date was coupled with an unveiling of the opening title sequence. Chock-full of familiar references from the book such as the chattering nuns, and a first look at Cumberbatch’s animated Satan design, the title sequence is a treat for fans of the book and a great primer for the upcoming mini-series. You can check that out below.
Set in 2018, the world is on the brink of the apocalypse as humanity prepares for final judgment. Good Omens follows Michael Sheen’s Aziraphale, a fussy angle, and David Tennant’s Crowley, a demon. The two aren’t too enthusiastic about the end of the world. However, just to complicate matters further, it seems that no one can find the Antichrist. In addition to Cumberbatch, Sheen, and Tennant, Good Omens also stars Jon Hamm as Archangel Gabriel, Jack Whitehall, Michael McKean, Miranda Richardson, Nick Offerman, and Frances McDormand, who’ll be voicing God herself.
The Amazon/BBC co-production is based on the acclaimed fantasy novel Good Omens: The Nice and Accurate Prophecies of Agnes Nutter, Witch co-written by Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett. Good Omens was Gaiman’s first novel, written in collaboration with the now recently departed Pratchett. A live-action adaptation had been attached to Terry Gilliam for several years but never got off the ground. It is the latest Gaiman television project in recent years. Fox premiered Lucifer, adapted from the character created in Gaiman’s Vertigo comics series The Sandman, in 2015. While Starz is set to debut Season 2 of American Gods, based on Gaiman’s book of the same name, later this March.
Given that this incarnation of Satan will only appear animated, Good Omens would have had to choose an actor capable of translating that with merely their vocal talents. Cumberbatch’s soothing, deep voice capable of real gravitas is a perfect choice for Satan. The British actor is also no slouch when it comes to dry wit, and in the world of Gaiman and Pratchett’s Good Omens, it’s sounding like a great fit.
More: First Good Omens Trailer is Devilishly Good Fun
Good Omens premieres on Amazon Prime Video Friday, May 31.
