Sam Mendes No Longer Directing Preacher; Will John August Direct?
Here’s the thing aboutPreacher: making it into a movie that makes any sense and retains the spirit of the original comic is going to be a hell of a task. (ahem.) Even ifKick-Assis quite successful, the collision of sex, religion and violence that is Preacher won’t be an easy sell. Producers have tried and failed, and producerNeal Moritzis still plugging along with his take.
Last we heard, he hadJohn Augustwriting the scriptandSam Mendeswaiting to direct. But then James Bond entered Mendes' life, and nowPreacherneeds a new director.
Colliderhas been running interviews with Neal Moritz all week, and the latest installment referencesPreacher. The producer says,
Who’s the other director? Good question.
What Moritz does say is that John August has written a ‘really faithful adaptation’ that doesn’t attempt to cram the core story into one film. So the idea is to do two or three R-rated films.
August expressed an interest in directing the film himself, as he and Moritz were talking about the wishlist of possible directors to replace Mendes. Moritz relates that his reply was “we’ll talk about it,” if none of those other guys say yes. Which sounds, to me, like a ‘no’ for August as director.
A plot refresher:
The story follows an ex-preacher man, Jesse, who has become disgusted with God’s abandoning of His responsibilities. So Jesse starts off into the wilds of Texas with his hitman girlfriend and new best friend (a vampire) to find God so that he can give Him a piece of his mind. Despite its superficial perversity, this book contains what may be the most moral character in mainstream comics.
