For almost sixteen years, Hollywood has flirted with making an adaptation of Garth Ennis and Steve Dillon’s “Preacher” comic book series, including potential feature films and a stint in development at HBO. But now the cult classic series may finally be heading to television.
Last November, rumors broke about “Preacher” coming to AMC. Those rumors were strengthened when Seth Rogen hinted at his involvement with the project. Today, AMC made the official announcement that “Preacher” is in development at the network in association with Sony Pictures Television.
Former “Breaking Bad” producer Sam Catlin will serve as the showrunner of “Preacher” while executive producing the project alongside Rogen and Evan Goldberg. Rogen is not currently expected to appear in “Preacher,” as his involvement seems to be limited to a behind-the-scenes role.
“Preacher” had a bizarre and controversial premise which may have hampered previous adaptation attempts. As conceived by Ennis and Dillon, “Preacher” follows a disillusioned small town preacher named Jesse Cutter after he is merged with the offspring of an angel and a demon that empowers him with the Word of God; an ability to force his will on nearly anything in creation. After learning that God has abandoned Heaven and his responsibilities, Jesse sets out to confront God alongside his ex-girlfriend turned professional assassin, Tulip and a 100 year old Irish vampire named Cassidy.
AMC’s announcement included a statement from Ennis that read “Steve Dillon and I are very happy to see Preacher being developed for TV, which seems a much more natural home for the story than a 2-hour movie. Obviously it’s taken a while, but Ken Levin along with Neal Moritz and his team refused to give up, long after the point when I myself grew skeptical, and their unrelenting enthusiasm for the project has gotten us where we need to be.”
“I’m particularly impressed that Seth Rogen, Evan Goldberg and Sam Catlin understand Preacher fully,” continued Ennis. “Meaning they get it for what it is, not some vague approximation.”
“Preacher” will likely be a good companion series for “The Walking Dead’ if it manages to make it out of development this time. But given AMC’s track record with its blockbuster zombie franchise, this could finally be the break that “Preacher” fans have been waiting for.
