Jesse Custer hasn’t quite made his last stand yet. After what felt like an eon in development hell, AMC’s adaptation of Garth Ennis’ seminal 90s comic book, Preacher, eventually emerged, quickly proving that it captured the precise cocktail of blasphemy, violence and humor that made the source material such a hit. With filming complete on season 2, it now has an airdate of June 19th at 9PM ET/PT on AMC.
With season 1 surprising fans by telling quite a different story to the comics, it looks as if this outing might hew a bit closer to the Vertigo originals. It apparently kicks off with Jesse (Dominic Cooper), Tulip (Ruth Negga) and Irish vampire Cassidy (Joseph Gilgun) on the run from the Saint of all Killers (basically Clint Eastwood with the meanness cranked way up).
To try and escape him, the trio are forced to take a road-trip through hell itself. Also bubbling away in the background is the introduction of baddie Herr Starr, a bald-headed possibly psychotic asshole who works for the sinister Grail industries. Anyone familiar with the comics should perk up with the mention of his name, as the villain is responsible for as much laughter as he is horror.
Joining the returning cast from season 1 are Noah Taylor, Pip Torrens and Julie Ann Emery, with Ronald Guttman, Justin Prentice and Malcolm Barrett in returning roles. We should find out more about the particulars of season 2 sometime tomorrow, as Exec Producer Seth Rogan and Garth Ennis are due to participate in an SXSW panel where they’ll outline what it is we can expect in June.
I really hope Preacher gets to properly conclude its story – there are some alarmingly bonkers things that happen in later issues of the comic and it has one of the all-time greatest endings in Vertigo comics history. So be sure to tune in and make that happen!