Sam Mendes Updates 'Preacher': Script is Half Done

I wholeheartedly agree with MTV's assessment of the upcoming Sam Mendes comic book adaptation: "With a complicated storyline and some weighty subject matter, it’s tricky to imagine the best way to pull off a live-action Preacher." I don't believe it can be made with pure commercial motives in mind, because you're better off just making some other comic book movie, but I do think there's a lot of hope for it artistically. Mendes agrees, giving MTV a status report on the script currently being crafted by John August. “He’s doing pretty well. He’s about halfway through. There’s a long way to go yet, but I’m very, very hopeful. I think it could be amazing.” It's a pretty out-there story, if you've never followed it. Think of it as a possessed preacher's walking tour of the country to find God. Literally. His entire congregation is destroyed by this supernatural creature, which winds up taking over Jesse Custer's body and imbuing him with both pure good and pure evil. And then the fun begins... I'm condensing, but hopefully that'll grease the rails a little bit for you. It's a real high-wire act for a movie, like a lot of comic book properties, because there's so much detail in the series and you want to remain true to that, but you're also restricted by time and story arcs. Mendes says a franchise is a possibility, but, "You have to try and get one really good and then, if you’re lucky, you can make a second or a third.” He's still definitely producing and I'm not sure where Mendes stands on directing it. He was attached a few months ago and I haven't heard an update, but because he's such a known quantity, he might beg off of this further down the line. I hope not, but it could happen.

Comments

[knives]

Didn't they already make this as Wild at Heart. The violence/ characters/ philosophy is the same anyway.

[faulty logic]

Preacher is an amazing series, I but don't think a movie or series of movies would do it justice.They should really be looking at doing it as a miniseries for hbo or showtime where they can get away with the content.