As viewer anticipation continues to mount leading up to the May 2016 premiere of the new AMC original series Preacher, from executive producers Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg, many fans of the original comic book run published by DC Comics imprint Vertigo (from creator Garth Ennis and artist Steve Dillon) are likely wondering just how much creative license the new show will take with the original narrative material. Given Rogen and Goldberg’s extensive track record with producing supremely out-there and bizarre comedic fare on the big screen, it’s likely that their new show will go above and beyond the original comic’s profane-cum-holy supernatural material.
Often cited as being among the most controversial properties in recent comic book history, Ennis’ original series centering around an ethereally possessed Texas preacher is certainly not quiet as morally black and white as that other similarly minded AMC program The Walking Dead. Rogen, Goldberg, and co-executive producer Sam Catlin appear primed to take advantage of that fact in the latest behind the scenes Preacher featurette.
In the video featured above, Rogen, Goldberg, and Catlin all extoll the episodic and wild virtues of the original Vertigo Preacher comic book volumes, before promising their fans that the new show will be just as “bonkers” as anything previously seen in the original series of panels. It remains to be seen just how surreal and fantastic the new show will prove to be when it finally airs on AMC, but if the men behind the production are to be believed then die hard fans of protagonist Jesse Custer and casual viewers alike are in for a treat like nothing else on TV.
The new show is set to star Dominic Cooper (Agent Carter) as Custer, Joseph Gilgun (The Last Witch Hunter) as Cassidy, and Ruth Negga (Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.) as Tulip O’Hare, among many others, and should provide viewers with more than a heaping helping of “bonkers” demon slaying and riotous crusades to last them through the duration of the show’s first season. Based on all appearances offered thus far, Preacher could very well become the successor to the likes of The Walking Dead that will only serve to further cement the status of AMC as a premiere adapter of comic book material to TV.
Until the show finally premieres later this May, first-time viewers and longtime readers of the original Ennis property will just have to bide their time and await the unveiling of Preacher on AMC, and hold final judgement on its respective merits and flaws for now. With any luck, Rogen, Goldberg, and Catlin aren’t merely blowing smoke, but have in fact produced a genuinely original and “bonkers” new show for viewing consumption based on the original Vertigo comic book series.
NEXT: Preacher Teaser Trailer
Preacher premieres Sunday, May 22nd, 2016 on AMC.
