When news broke last year that AMC had ordered a pilot for Preacher, based on the Vertigo comic series by Garth Ennis and Steve Dillon, rumors began swirling that Seth Rogen would produce the project. Today, those rumors have been confirmed by The Hollywood Reporter, who says that Rogen and This is the End cowriter Evan Goldberg will pen the script. The duo will also executive produce the project alongside Breaking Bad’s Sam Catlin, who will serve as showrunner.
Here’s what Garth Ennis had to say in the official statement:
“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 two-hour movie. Between them, Sony TV and AMC have brought viewers two of my favorite shows with Breaking Bad andMad Men, and it’s exactly that kind of creative commitment and courage that Preacher needs. 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 — meaning they get it for what it is, not some vague approximation. All in all, it looks like Preacher can now be brought to TV in a way that I’d previously not have thought possible, and I very much appreciate that Steve and I have been included in the conversation in the way that we have.”
The series will follow Jesse Custer, a small-town preacher who intends to track down God and take him to task for abandoning his duties. Along for the ride are his ex-girlfriend-turned-assassin, Tulip, and a debaucherous 100-year-old vampire named Cassidy. But the journey won’t be easy, as they’ll have to contend with the Saint of Killers, an immortal killing machine whose soly purpose is to hunt Jesse down.
“This is amazing!” said Rogen and Goldberg in a joint statement. “We’ve tried for seven years to work on Preacher and we’re so psyched AMC is finally letting us. It is our favorite comic of all time, and we’re going to do everything we can to do it right. Humperdoo!”
No word yet on a director for the pilot, or who the producers might be looking at for casting, but for what it’s worth, Justified star Jacob Pitts recently told us he’d love to be involved.
amc evan goldberg preacher sam catlin seth rogen