Sam Mendes Officially Off 'Preacher'

"Preacher" has been in development hell for ages. Originally conceived as a show on HBO, a feature film adaptation of the comic series has been mulling around for some time with Sam Mendes ("American Beauty") attached to direct and John August ("The Nines") writing the screenplay.

But at the beginning of the year news hit that Sam Mendes would be directing the next James Bond film. That made me question what would happen to "Preacher," and indeed the official word is out - Mendes is no longer attached to "Preacher."

Collider spoke with producer Neil Moritz, who gave some info on the current state of the film that may be the first part in a trilogy (if the first film ever makes it into production).

“We were originally talking with Sam Mendes about doing the movie. Sam Mendes is going to go off and do the Bond movie, so there’s another director that we’re talking to right now.”

“We’ve got a great script. John August wrote a script that I think is terrific. The hardest thing was with all the books-the Preacher books-was how to distill it down. And what he made the smart decision instead of trying to cram everything into one, there’s plenty of room for 2 or 3 movies. So that’s what he’s done and he’s done a really faithful adaption but made it probably more accessible to a broader audience right now. That movie’s definitely R-rated and it’s an amazing central character.”

They then ask Moritz if August could possibly direct the film.

“You know it’s interesting you say that. I had a meeting with him recently and we started talking about directors and we were talking about some really, you know, lofty directors. And he said you know if you don’t get one of those I’d be interested in it. I said we’ll talk about it. “

Moritz also expressed hope that shooting for the film would begin next year. So hopefully a new director as well as the cast will be announced by the end of this year.

Collider's massive interview with Moritz is well worth a read as the site discusses seemingly dozens of projects with the producer - so go check it out.

"Preacher" is based on the successful mid-nineties Vertigo comic series by Garth Ennis and Steve Dillon and tells the story of Reverend Jesse Custer who unwittingly becomes host to an angel-demon hybrid entity known as Genesis. Due to the entity’s split-nature of pure good and evil, Genesis is powerful enough to rival God himself. The plots follows Custer on his adventure discovering who he is and what he can do as he hunts down God who abandoned Heaven as Genesis was born. He is joined by his old girlfriend Tulip O’Hare, as well as a hard-drinking Irish vampire named Cassidy.

Who would you like to replace Sam Mendes on "Preacher"? Who would you cast as Jesse Custer, Tulip O'Hare and Cassidy?
More news to come! Catch ya' later!
Sources: UGO Movie Blog, Live for Films