Benedict Cumberbatch to Play Satan on Neil Gaiman's Upcoming 'Good Omens'

Benedict Cumberbatch attends the Los Angeles Global Premiere for Avengers: Infinity War on April 23, 2018 in Hollywood, California.
Jesse Grant/Getty Images for Disney

The Amazon series will premiere on May 31.

Benedict Cumberbatch has a new role -- as Satan. 

The 42-year-old actor will get a little hellish on Amazon's upcoming series, Good Omens, showrunner and executive producer Neil Gaiman revealed at the streaming service's Television Critics Association press tour on Wednesday. 

The series, starring Michael Sheen as angel Aziraphale and David Tennant at demon Crowley, will premiere on May 31. The show's cast also includes Jon Hamm, Michael McKean and Nick Offerman. During the series panel, Gaiman -- who wrote 1990's Good Omens: The Nice and Accurate Prophecies of Agnes Nutter, Witch with Terry Pratchett --  shared that he had a new guest star to announce. 

"As many of you know, Frances McDormand is playing God in this. And we suddenly realized we have Satan turning up in episode six, and we needed somebody who could give Frances McDormand a run for her money," Gaiman teased.  

"We needed a performance that would work, so we found a young British actor who needed a lot of direction ... It is the glorious, young Benedict Cumberbatch [who] is our Satan," he continued. "He's marvelous."

Good Omens will premiere May 31 on Amazon Prime Video. 

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