Bad news for folks who like their mythology hyper-violent and super stylized, Hannibal duo Bryan Fuller and Michael Green have departed the Starz series American Gods as showrunners ahead of Season 2. Deadline reports that the duo informed the cast and crew of their departure today.

The split is said to be a result of clashing between the creative duo and production company FreemantleMedia after Fuller and Green pushed to increase the series already substantial budget, with the Season 2 per-episode budget reportedly nearing $10 million. No replacement showrunner has been named yet, though the report notes that half of the Season 2 scripts have already been written for what was intended to be a mid-2018 premiere. No word on if the creative switch-up will push back the premiere.

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Image via Starz

Based on Neil Gaiman's acclaimed supernatural novel, American Gods stars Ian McShane and The 100 alum Ricky Whittle as a mismatched pair embroiled in a mythological battle between the gods of the old world and the new, and it's visually striking first season earned the series heaps of critical acclaim, including a glowing review here at Collider, and a strong ratings start. It was renewed for a second season in May, early in the first season's run.

Fuller is keeping his dance card busy as usual, and already has a reboot of Amazing Stories setup at Amazon. As for Green, the screenwriter is having a heck of year after penning the scripts to Logan, Blade Runner 2049 and Murder on the Orient Express in addition to his work on American Gods. He's already set up to pen the script for the Orient Express sequel Death on the Nile and he's also developing Brian K. Vaughn's celebrated graphic novel Y: The Last Man to series for FX.

Update: Gaiman clarifies his role with the continuing series:

[EMBED_TWITTER]https://twitter.com/neilhimself/status/936270368758779904?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw[/EMBED_TWITTER]

Gaiman serves as an executive producer on American Gods, and Starz renewed the show for a second season this past May. The 8-episode first season also stars Emily BrowningIan McShaneGillian AndersonKristin ChenowethPeter StormareCloris LeachmanMousa KraishOmid AbtahiOrlando JonesDemore BarnesChris ObiJonathan TuckerCorbin Bernsen, and Betty GilpinAmerican GodsSeason 2 premieres sometime in 2018.

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Image via Starz
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Image via Starz
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Image via Starz