The Hollywood Reporter and Superhero Hype are reporting that Columbia Pictures has picked up the rights to “Preacher”, the popular 1990’s graphic novel from Vertigo by Garth Ennis and Steve Dillon.

Neil Moritz and Origin Films, along with Kickstar Productions’ Jason Netter, are producing, and Sam Mendes is attached as the director of the film. There are, as of yet, no writers attached to a script.

“Preacher” has been in consideration for adaptation for quite a long time, with a script and production start, starring James Marsden (”X-Men”, “Enchanted”) in 2002, and an hour-long HBO series in development hell since its announcement in 2006.

The comic told the story of Jesse Custer, a down-on-his-luck Texan preacher who is possessed by Genesis, a powerful being that is the product of a relationship between an angel and a demon. The power of Genesis gives him various abilities, the most prominent being the power to command people to do what he says with his voice. Custer, his ex-girlfriend Tulip, and an alcoholic Irish vampire named Cassidy go on a cross-country road trip to track down God, who they believe disappeared and abandoned his duty when Genesis first appeared.

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By Costa Koutsoutis, (Source: The Hollywood Reporter)