Preacher is smack in the middle of its debut season, but that didn’t stop the cast and crew from bringing a new trailer to San Diego Comic-Con that gives us a peek at the end of the season, and, you know, possibly the end of the world. Take a look!
Preacher is an unusual show. Put simply, an entity that is half angel/half demon crashes into a deeply troubled mortal, and gives him powers beyond his wildest imaginings. Sometimes. The mortal is a preacher in a small town, his best friend is an alcoholic Irish vampire with trust issues, and his ex-girlfriend sometimes works as an assassin. The show is based on a comics series by Garth Ennis and Steve Dillon.
Fittingly, rather than host a typical panel, AMC’s Preacher chose to use the time allotted to them by the almighty hand of San Diego Comic-Con to hold a live read of this week’s episode, “Finish the Song”, which is the penultimate episode for season one. Kevin Smith hosted, and guest- read a few roles, along with showrunners Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg, Dominic Cooper (Jesse Custer, the titular preacher), Ruth Negga (Tulip O’Hare), Joseph Gilgun (Cassidy the Irish Vampire), Ian Colletti (Arseface), and Graham McTavish (the Saint of Killers). Actor and How Did This Get Made? co-host Jason Mantzoukas, and Danielle Panabaker of The Flash and Arrow also stepped in to guest.
Obviously we’re not going to quote the reading here, since that would effectively spoil episode, but it does feature the usual terrifying violence, seen here:
Later on in the read, Cassidy threatens Jesse, but Gilgun gave a pretty deadpan line read. Rogen looked over at him and said, “contrary to the performance, it’s the angriest we’ve ever seen him.” “You said I could do me own thing!” Gilgun replied. “I have to piss so bad!”
After the live reading, the panel morphed into a more traditional Q&A.
Rogen and Goldberg talked about realizing how much they could change from the comics, which writer Garth Ennis approved of: “I maintain that I only confirmed the conclusion Evan and Seth had already come to, that there was only going to be a season and a half worth of material.”
Ruth Negga talked about her love for her character, Tulip O’Hare, saying, “I find her quite exciting. I very much enjoy a woman who can be dark and nuanced but also quite funny” while Cooper has had the opposite response to delving into Jesse Custer: “He’s much more dislikable than I thought … it’s very clear to me why this person can contain the entity.”
Rogen’s initial involvement with Preacher didn’t hint at the showrunning glories to come. Instead, he “cold-emailed” director Sam Mendes, who was planning to direct a film adaptation of the comic in 2008, writing, “You’ve never met me but I am writing to tell you I would give anything to play the role of Aresface.” Rogen dodged a bullet, however, as Colletti’s Arseface makeup takes two-and-a-half hours to apply – he can’t eat or sneeze once it’s on.
Inevitably, the panel was asked how they would use the Genesis entity’s power of suggestion if they had it, but only Gilgun had an answer. “Everybody start shagging! I come amongst you like a mist of syphilis and chlamydia.” After realizing that he wasn’t supposed to be cursing quite so much in front of a live San Diego audience, Gilgun also offered the crowd some advice: “Don’t watch Preacher if you’re offended by fucking swear words.”
And Rogen looked to the future, saying that since people spent years thinking of Preacher as an unmakeable comic, “hopefully this will show people that other unmakeable comics can be made… we made the fucking Green Hornet, dude. This has been a dream as to how people have embraced it.”
Need more? Comic Book Resources is at SDCC and has a full rundown of the shenanigans and toy-admiring!
