While we’re still far from convinced that the sprawling, complicated, awesome Preacher comics created by Garth Ennis can really be served properly as a film (or even a series of films), I Am Number Four director DJ Caruso is the latest name looking to convince us that the opposite is true. And he’s hit the Twitters (via the Playlist) to announce that he’s now locked in a deal to give it a whirl.
Caruso’s name has previously been linked with the project, and in an interview with Spinoff Online, he admitted his enthusiasm for the comic: “I love the Wild West, man. I really love Preacher. It’s fantastic. I think that’s what would sell me on taking on a comic book project again. I don’t know if this is still what’s going on with it, but Sam was going to direct it, Sam Mendes, and John August was writing the screenplay.”
Yes, Mendes was just the latest name to be linked to the adaptation, hired by Sony and producer Neal Moritz to give it a whirl before ditching the idea to focus on the next Bond film. The likes of Joe Carnahan have had their names bandied about, and Mark Steven Johnson tried for a while to get it made as an HBO miniseries.
Preacher, for those who have never discovered the glory of the series, follows the misadventures of ex-preacher Jesse Custer, who has a lot on his mind. Specifically, he’s possessed by Genesis, asupernatural force that resulted when an angel and a demon decided to get frisky. The moment the beastie was born, God abandoned Heaven and his responsibilities to mankind, and so Jesse sets out to track Him down and make Him answer for His actions. He’s joined on his travels by assassin girlfriend Tulip and Cassidy, a booze-loving vampire. That mix doesn’t exactly make for the easiest story to boil down into a script or two…
But if the idea of the man behind Eagle Ey****e and Taking Lives tackling Preacher fills you with either glee or horror, hold off your celebration/voodoo doll carving for now, as don’t forget that Caruso also spent a while trying to figure out how to bring another respected/tough comic book project, Y: The Last Man, to the screen without success. And Preacher has so far resisted all attempts at moviefication. We’re going to take a wait and see approach on this one.