The search is over! AMC has finally cast Dominic Cooper as Jesse Custer in its forthcoming comic book series Preacher. The one-time Howard Stark has been connected to the role for some time, surfacing in a variety of reports as the network’s main choice for the part. His name cropped up again last week as he was close to locking down a deal. And judging by a Tweet from one of the show’s enthusiastic co-creators, that’s now a sure thing:
We have Jesse Custer! @dominiccoop is gonna save our souls. #Preacher
— Seth Rogen (@Sethrogen) April 17, 2015
Rogen and his long-term creative partner Evan Goldberg have been developing the series for AMC alongside Breaking Bad‘s Sam Catlin, who also penned the pilot. Their shared enthusiasm over the original comic series, and a desire to do it justice, promises that this won’t be a family-friendly affair but will zero in on the darker, acerbic elements of Garth Ennis and Steve Dillon’s source material. Published under DC’s Vertigo imprint, Preacher ran from 1995-2000 and clocked up 75 issues, in which Jesse Custer and his two sidekicks embark on a haul-ass mission to track down God.
You can catch Cooper’s man of the cloth lead that motley crew across the plains when Preacher debuts in 2016. Ruth Negga co-stars as his girlfriend Tulip, Joseph Gilgun plays Cassidy, Ian Coletti steps into the role of Arseface and Lucy Griffiths will be Emily Woodrow.
Based on Garth Ennis and Steve Dillon’s twisted ‘90s comic book series, Preacher is about Jesse Custer, a conflicted Preacher in a small Texas town who merges with a creature that has escaped from heaven and develops the ability to make anyone do anything he says. Along with his ex-girlfriend, Tulip, and an Irish vampire named Cassidy, the three embark on a journey to literally find God.