The development of Garth Ennis’s Preacher into film has long seemed like a pipe dream for comic fans. Even after Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg announced their plans to create the series with the help of AMC, many remained skeptical, citing concerns over the series’ intensely graphic content and outlandish plot devices. But there’s no room left for doubt now; AMC released the first full trailer for Preacher during The Walking Dead, and it’s definitely worth watching.
This may be due to my undying allegiance to Garth Ennis and his groundbreaking series, but I have my doubts about the show after watching this trailer. As any fans of Preacher will know, the original work starts out with the fiery destruction of Jesse Custer’s (played here by Dominic Cooper) church and entire congregation. Not only is there no hint of this in the trailer, but there are rumors that the entire first season will center around Jesse’s interaction with his church congregation.
And that’s what this trailer gives us, just Jesse and his congregation without a hint of the insane supernatural influence that beats the at heart of this story. My comic book purist “geek rage” aside, this begs the question, what exactly are they filming on the Preacher set? Because from what we see here, this looks like a deep south Beat ’em up kind of show. Though it is just the first trailer.
We do get a nice, though brief, look at Tulip and Cassidy. The casting of Joseph Gilgun as the Irish vampire Cassidy seems like a great choice; his facial expressions alone are able to sell the character. And I have to say that the glimpses we get of the two of them are some incredibly intense shots. The rest though will have to wait to be seen. Rogen and Goldberg have pledged to keep the show as loyal to the source material as possible, and it’s hard not to trust a fellow comic fanboy. Things should clear up once we get a good look at “Arse Face.” And yes, I realize how funny that sounds.
Images: AMC
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