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Later Works

Sequel

668—The Neighbour of the Beast was slated as the title for a sequel to Good Omens, but after Neil Gaiman moved to the United States, Terry Pratchett expressed doubt that a sequel would be written.^[4] Neil Gaiman later affirmed this in one of his essays, titled Terry Pratchett: An Appreciation.

Film version

A film, directed by Terry Gilliam, was planned. As of 2002 Gilliam still hoped to make the film with its already completed script,^[5] but by 2006 it seemed to have come to nothing. Funding was slow to appear and Gilliam moved on to other projects. The film was removed from IMDB. There was a rumour that Johnny Depp was originally cast as Crowley and Robin Williams as Aziraphale. However Neil Gaiman has said on his website, "Well, Robin's worked with Terry Gilliam before as well, of course, most famously in The Fisher King. But I have no idea about Good Omens casting (except for Shadwell. Terry told me who he wanted to play Shadwell. I immediately forgot the man's name, although I can assure you that it wasn't Robin Williams)."^[6] According to an interview in May 2006 at The Guardian Hay Festival, Gilliam is apparently still hoping to go ahead with the film.

Even in 2008, Gilliam is still hopeful about the project. Neil Gaiman's Stardust and Beowulf were successful as films in 2007, which has given the Good Omens adaptation a better chance to get picked up. A Gilliam quote from an Empire interview: "And I thought with Neil, with Stardust and with Beowulf and there’s another one – an animated film, a Henry Selick thing he’s written [Coraline], I was thinking he’s really hot now, so maybe there’s a chance. I mean it’s such a wonderful book. And I think our script is pretty good, too. We did quite a few changes. We weren’t as respectful as we ought to have been. But Neil’s happy with it!"^[7]

The tedious history of this project and similar experiences with Gaiman's various other works (including The Sandman series) have led to his cynical view of the Hollywood process, a view which occasionally surfaces in his weblog^[8] and in some of his short fiction. Terry Pratchett shares a similar opinion, and has been quoted as saying, "The difference between me and Neil in our attitude to movie projects is that he doesn't believe they're going to happen until he's sitting in his seat eating popcorn, and I don't believe they're going to happen."^[9]

Terry Pratchett has had many of the same issues with Hollywood 'suits',^[10] but he, too, would love to see the film made.^{[citation needed]}