SPOILER ALERT: This contains MAJOR SPOILERS for ‘American Gods’ Season 2, so if you are not up to date, turn back now or proceed with caution.
‘American Gods’ has a pretty large cast– it’s no ‘Game of Thrones’, but it’s larger than most. And considering the stakes, it makes sense that fans would have to get used to saying goodbye to some of them over time, but sadly, most probably weren’t prepared to bid farewell to this one in particular.
In the penultimate episode of Season 2, giant leprechaun Mad Sweeney went out in a blaze of glory, in an episode that revealed his origin, which was largely unknown even to him. Star Pablo Schreiber has been cast as the Master Chief on HBO’s new ‘Halo’ TV series, and sadly that means that fans may have seen the last of Mad Sweeney.
Speaking to Deadline’s Next Generation TV, he said in part:
“I want to be in a place where I can be having a really rich, fulfilling collaboration with people that are ready to do their job. That’s what we got on this episode, and they were jazzed to create this stand-alone thing… The process of Episode 7 was this excavation, of digging up. Digging up his past and filtering out the difference of his mythology, what he’s heard about himself, and what might actually be true.”
Mad Sweeney is, as Schreiber himself has stated, an “asshole,” but there was something endearing and vulnerable about this character that could have easily gone the villain route.
Even with ‘American Gods’ off his plate, Schreiber will be quite busy, with ‘Halo’ about to begin production. He also has a role on the upcoming Apple TV+ miniseries ‘Defending Jacob’ which is executive produced by, and stars Chris Evans. Schreiber also has three movies coming up, ‘The King’s Daughter’, ‘The Devil Has a Name’, and ‘Lorelei’.
Are you upset that Mad Sweeney won’t be part of ‘American Gods’ going forward?
If you’d like to watch all of Schreiber’s interview, you can find it here.