How do you solve a problem like Preacher? I’ll be damned if I can figure it out, and so far the teasers haven’t clued us in on just how Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg will keep their promise to stay true to the Garth Ennis and Steve Dillon comic. Airing the series on AMC presents some clear problems; were Preacher to air on say, HBO, Cinemax or a streaming outlet, they’d be less restrained with some of the comic’s more R to X-rated issues — sex, language, rampant, blatant racism, blasphemy…I don’t think anyone’s terribly worried about the violence. The Walking Dead has played around enough pushing those particular cable limits; we’ve even seen a bare butt or two. But, Preacher goes way beyond nudity (sodomy, sex parties, fetishism); the particulars the comic explores and the buttons pushed are simply beyond what can be openly played out, so either the series goes heavy on intimation and offscreen antics, or we’re in for a very tamed down journey. It’s true, they’ve rounded up a great core crew of actors: Dominic Cooper as Jesse Custer, Joe Gilgun as Cassidy, and Ruth Negga as badass, Tulip O’Hare; other standouts include Jackie Earle Haley as “Meatman,” Odin Quinncannon and W. Earl Brown as Hugo Root, but there are a few important characters I haven’t seen mentioned in casting news yet. So, instead of fretting about how things may or may not play out until Preacher‘s May 22nd premiere, why not dreamcast (emphasis on the dream) a few inexplicably unannounced roles? Alluding to a ***Spoilerish*** appearance I’ve read about in pieces from those who’ve seen the pilot — a major film actor appears in cameo — so if my choices seem out of the possible realm — well, maybe they’re not.
Christoph Waltz as Herr Starr
Anna Torv as Sarah Featherstone
Jason Isaacs as Jesus DeSade
Holly Hunter as Christina Custer
Erica Tazel as Cindy Daggett
Clint Eastwood as The Saint of Killers
Jeff Bridges as God
Preacher begins on AMC Sunday, May 22nd.
