TV Article American Gods: Gillian Anderson channels Marilyn Monroe in teaser photo By Devan Coggan Devan Coggan Devan Coggan (rhymes with seven slogan) is a senior writer at Entertainment Weekly. Most of her personality is just John Mulaney quotes and Lord of the Rings references. EW's editorial guidelines Published on June 30, 2016 08:17PM EDT Photo: David M. Benett/Dave Benett/Getty Images Gillian Anderson may soon be playing the original blonde bombshell. The X-Files actress is in the middle of filming the upcoming TV adaptation of Neil Gaiman’s beloved novel American Gods, playing Media, the modern god of all things cultural. Earlier this week, showrunner Bryan Fuller (who’s also Anderson’s former Hannibal boss) tweeted she was on set filming her second scene as Media, appearing as a mysterious cultural figure. In the book, Media is a New God who thrives off attention and takes the form of various celebrities and pop culture icons, most memorably appearing as a foul-mouthed Lucille Ball. Now, Anderson has shared a cryptic teaser from the set, sporting platinum hair and blood red nails in a photo that seems to suggest an appearance as Marilyn Monroe. In the upcoming Starz TV adaptation, Ricky Whittle stars as Shadow Moon, an ex-con who signs on to work as a bodyguard for the mysterious Mr. Wednesday (Deadwood’s Ian McShane). Soon, Shadow finds himself sucked into the brewing clash between the New Gods and the Old, wrapped up in a world of worship, power, and mythology. The star-studded cast also includes Emily Browning as Shadow’s wife Laura, Bruce Langley as the Technical Boy, Pablo Schreiber as the leprechaun Mad Sweeney, Crispin Glover as Mr. World, Cloris Leachman as Zorya Vechernyaya, and Orlando Jones as Mr. Nancy. American Gods is expected to premiere on Starz in 2017, with Fuller and Michael Green serving as writers and showrunners.