Preacher might need a little prayer at this point. Variety reports that the supernatural comic will be turned into a script by John August, the writer behind… Charlie’s Angels: Full Throttle? Granted, August is also the screenwriter behind many of Tim Burton’s better stuff, like Corpse Bride, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and Big Fish, so it is not like Preacher is exactly destitute.
I’m not sure who I was picturing to write the perfect adaptation of preacher, maybe Mick Jagger? A writer with a background in action and superhero flicks, but with a touch of that Charlie Kauffman magical realism was what I was thinking; maybe someone like Christopher Nolan, Darren Aronofsky or even Quentin Tarantino. But here comes John August, ready to adapt one of the most revered series in comic book history. Luckily, we’ve got Sam American Beauty Medes behind the proverbial wheel as director, whom I trust completely.
Mendes told MTV last week, “I think it’s absolutely brilliant,” about Garth Ennis’ masterful comic. “It’s a gripping story, fantastic characters, great visual landscape. It mixes supernatural and real worlds brilliantly… it’s funny, and it’s absolutely, completely blasphemous, possibly even sacrilegious I would say. Which might be a dangerous thing to take on.”
August was previously involved in writing Shazam!. Check out his side of the story in his blog: here. Turns out he had finished two drafts of the script for two different studios when the project went defunct. No doubt The Rock is devastated. So, although we didn’t see it hit the screen, maybe he does have a bit of that Superhero experience we’re looking for. Now, if he can just get the outrageous violence down, the hip swagger of the Preacher captured and the theological motifs figured out, we might just have a magical movie on our hands!
Now that the gears are in motion, get ready to start hearing about casting from us! If I read the words “Shia LaBeouf” and Preacher in the same sentence, I think I might cry.
