Preacher dead at HBO

Last Updated on July 27, 2021

We’ve been hearing about an adaptation of the graphic novel PREACHER for a while now, and last we heard, it was going to be a mini-series on HBO from director Mark Steven Johnson (dude who gave us DAREDEVIL and GHOST RIDER). That was a while ago now, and still… no PREACHER. Johnson had a chance to talk with Comics Continuum over the weekend, confirming the news we had been dreading to hear for months: PREACHER is dead in the water.

Straight from the horses mouth: ..the new head of HBO felt it was just too dark and too violent and too controversial. Which, of course, is kind of the point! It was a very faithful adaptation of the first few books, nearly word for word. They offered me the chance to redevelop it but I refused. I’ve learned my lesson on that front and I won’t do it again. So I’m afraid it’s dead at HBO.

There is some good to come out of this, as it appears as though Johnson has learned his lesson of redeveloping projects… maybe that was the reaon GHOST RIDER sucked so bad? Or DAREDEVIL? Could be… so we should be thankful he refused to make PREACHER suck as bad as those flicks.

The head of HBO sounds like a pussy for not greenlighting this beast as there’s a definite audience just waiting to see PREACHER come out and kick some ass. As a reminder, PREACHER tells the story of Jesse Custer, a down-and-out preacher in the small Texas town of Annville, whop was accidentally possessed by the supernatural creature named Genesis in an incident which killed his entire congregation and flattened his church. Custer, driven by a strong sense of right and wrong, goes on a journey across the United States attempting to (literally) find God, who abandoned Heaven the moment Genesis was born. He also begins to discover the truth about his new powers, which allow him to command the obedience of those who hear his words. He is joined by his old girlfriend Tulip O’Hare, as well as a hard-drinking Irish vampire named Cassidy.

To check out the full scoop, including the possibility of it becoming a feature film instead of a series, click HERE, and stick around for more updates on PREACHER as they surface!