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Seth Rogen Confirms Dominic Cooper As Lead In TV’s Preacher

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Just over a month after reports first surfaced that British actor Dominic Cooper was the top contender for the lead role in the TV adaptation of the DC Vertigo comic book ‘Preacher,’ it has at last been confirmed that Cooper has indeed been cast.

The news comes from Seth Rogen, who made the announcement on Twitter - to earn a gracious response from Cooper himself not long thereafter:

Rogen, along with his frequent collaborator Evan Goldberg, and former ‘Breaking Bad’ writer/producer Sam Catlin, is bringing ‘Preacher’ to the small screen as producer. Rogen and Goldberg have co-written the pilot episode, which they will also direct.

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The pilot has been ordered by US network AMC, home of ‘Breaking Bad’ and ‘The Walking Dead’  (also a comic book adaptation). However, there is no confirmation yet that a ‘Preacher’ series will definitely ensue.

Cooper is already familiar to comic book movie fans thanks to his role as Howard Stark in ‘Captain America: the First Avenger,’ which he has subsequently reprised alongside Hayley Atwell in Marvel TV series ‘Agent Carter.’

He takes on the lead role of the Reverend Jesse Custer, a disillusioned Texan preacher who is unwittingly merged with an ethereal entity named Genesis. This imbues him with the unique power of the Word, which forces all who hear it to obey any command.

On discovering that God has abandoned his post in Heaven, Jesse sets off with his ex-girlfriend Tulip (to be played by Ruth Negga, reportedly Cooper’s real-life girlfriend) and a vampire named Cassidy (Joseph Gilgun) to track down the Almighty and hold him accountable.

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The highly provocative comic from writer Garth Ennis and artist Steve Dillon - published by DC’s mature readers imprint Vertigo, and not classed as part of the broader DC universe - has been touted for a screen adaptation since it was first published in the late 1990s.

The likelihood for controversy has been the most frequently cited reason most previous attempts failed to get off the ground. Most notably, Sam Mendes was attached to a film adaptation prior to abandoning the project in favour of ‘Skyfall.’

The comic has a devoted cult following, and some fear that AMC may not be the most suitable home for the property, given the channel is subject to US network regulations - specifically, restrictions on sex, violence and bad language, all of which ‘Preacher’ has in abundance in the comic.

Still, given the success of ‘Breaking Bad’ and ‘The Walking Dead,’ it doesn’t seem out of the question that ‘Preacher’ could prove a similar hit with audiences - assuming it does indeed wind up going to series.

No broadcast dates have yet been confirmed, but the ‘Preacher’ pilot is expected to shoot soon.

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Picture Credit: Marvel/AMC, DC