D.J. Caruso to Direct 'Preacher'

After several false starts, the adaptation of the Vertigo comic book seriesPreacheris moving ahead again with director D.J. Caruso.

The directortweetedthis week,“My deal just closed on Preacher. Going back to the dark side and pretty fucking pumped!” He will direct from a script by John August (Go, Big Fish). The controversial story, written by Garth Ennis, tells of a small town Texas preacher who becomes possessed by a creature of both pure goodness and evil.  When his uncontrollable powers decimate his entire congregation, the holy Jesse Custer literally goes on a violent journey in search of God, who abandoned Heaven.  In other words, this isn’t the squeaky clean Caruso we saw behindEagle Eyeand the Hitchcockian redoDisturbia.

Caruso, whose latest film (I Am Number Four) is currently in theaters, was rumored for the gig last month but the question-marked headlines faded without confirmation from Columbia Pictures and his potential hiring was written off as another faint possibility in the comics’ long run to the silver screen.

During the 75-issue run from 1995 to 2000, Ennis sold the rights to Electric Entertainment in‘98 and they quickly set Rachel Talalay (Tank Girl) as the director. (See, fans, it could be worse?)  Kevin Smith and his producing partner Scott Mosier helped Ennis pitch the concept to Harvey Weinstein circa 2000, but he passed and Smith remained attached for a few years.  By 2002, James Marsden was linked to the lead, but the project died down again due to budget constraints.  HBO commissioned a pilot and a“series bible” (an outline of the first season) in 2006, but the cable network abandoned the idea due to its dark and controversial nature. Columbia Pictures swept up the rights in 2008 and attached Sam Mendes to direct and John August to write the script.  Mendes ultimately walked (to directBond 23), after which Darren Aronofsky (Black Swan) expressed interest.

While I’m eager to see a… (ahem) faithful adaptation ofPreacheron screen (any screen will do), Caruso seems like an odd choice to try for another green light, particularly without altering the comics’ irreverent tone. We’ll be following this one closely, but I will be surprised if this adaptation happens after all these years.

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