With Breaking Bad now concluded, AMC needs a viable replacement for the series, and the network may have just found it. After years of unfounded rumors, and being stuck in various stages of development hell, Garth Ennis and Steve Dillon's Preacher may finally be coming to the small screen, as AMC has ordered a pilot for the series be filmed.

Created by Ennis and Dillon, Preacher is one of the more popular and continually successful series from Vertigo's illustrious backlist, and ranks right with 100 Bullets near the top of the list of series longtime Vertigo readers have wanted to see translated to television. The project seemed tantalizingly close to being realized more than once in: director D.J. Caruso was once attached to a film adaptation, and Sam Mendes was said to be working on a small screen version for HBO as recently as a few years ago.

That said, making Preacher into a television series presents some challenges. The comic tells the story of Jesse Custer, a reluctant preacher from a small Texas town who is accidentally possessed by Genesis, the spirit of a child born from the union of an angel and a demon. The union leaves Jesse imbued with "The Word," allowing him to make anyone within earshot do exactly what he says.  Along with his girlfriend Tulip and best friend Cassidy -- an expert marksman and a hard drinking vampire, respectively -- the three set off on a mission to find God, who has abandoned heaven and is hiding somewhere on earth. Along the way, they come across a number of things that, while favorite moments for readers of the comic, may be difficult to translate to the small screen -- a man who copulates with a giant meat woman perhaps being principal among them.

Still, this is welcome news. And with AMC currently finding unprecedented success with its adaptation of Image Comics' The Walking Dead, taking a chance on Preacher is certainly something they'd be more comfortable with than they may have been in years past.

There's no word yet on who's attached to the project, but an announcement is likely coming soon.

 

 

 

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