Preacher coming to TV

HBO is developing a one-hour series based on the popular 1990s Vertigo comics series, Preacher, says The Hollywood Reporter.

Mark Steven Johnson (upcoming Ghost Rider, Daredevil) is writing the pilot, while Howard Deutch is attached to direct. Johnson and Deutch will executive produce along with Michael De Luca, George Agusto, Chris Bender and JC Spink.

Preacher, which ran from 1995-2000, told the story of a down-and-out Texas preacher possessed by Genesis, a supernatural entity conceived by the unnatural coupling of an angel and a demon. Given immense powers, the preacher teamed with an old girlfriend and a hard-drinking Irish vampire and set out on a journey across America to find God -- who apparently had abandoned his duties in heaven -- and hold him accountable for his negligence.

The series was created by Irish-born writer Garth Ennis and British artist Steve Dillon, who will serve as co-executive producers. Ken F. Levin, who represents the duo, also will serve as co-executive producer.

There have been several attempts to bring the comic to the screen, whether big or small, but nothing stuck, says the trade. A movie version, to have been produced by Kevin Smith's View Askew, among others, got to the casting stage, with James Marsden attached. Via Superherohype.com