EXCLUSIVE

〉Cooper’s the top pick to lead the series based upon the cult comic.

I’m hearing that Dominic Cooper is the frontrunner to lead AMC’s new comic adaptation PREACHER. The series, developed by Seth Rogen, Evan Goldberg, and Sam Catlin (Breaking Bad), will be based upon Garth Ennis and Steve Dillon’s cult classic 1990s comic book series of the same name.

Though there have been no official offers extended to Cooper, I’m hearing that he’s the top pick to star as Jesse Custer. Cooper’s involvement could come as a surprise to some fans, who typically fan-casted actors known for grittier roles. No stranger to television, Cooper’s just finished his run on ABC’s Agent Carter and BBC America’s Flemming.

Preacher follows Jesse Custer, a reverend ripe with inner turmoil in a small Texas town, who becomes merged with a supernatural entity, birthed from both an angel and a demon, that escaped from heaven, causing him to develop the power of persuasion and capable of making anyone do anything that he commands. Together with his ex-girlfriend Tulip and an Irish vampire named Cassidy, the trio sets off to find God and find answers as to why he abandoned Heaven.

AMC ordered the pilot in December, after Rogen and Goldberg spent seven years trying to bring the controversial comic property to the screen. Due to the controversial, bloody, and adult nature of the series, it’s understandably difficult to adapt.

Rogen and Goldberg will executive produce the series through their Point Grey banner, along with Catlin, Original Film’s Neal Moritz, Ori Marmur, Ken Levin, Jason Netter, and Vivian Cannon. The comic series’ creators, Ennis and Dillon, will serve as co-executive producers. Rogen and Goldberg will direct the pilot, while Catlin will write and serve as series showrunner for Sony TV and AMC Studios.

Cooper is perhaps best known for portraying the young Howard Stark in Captain America: The First Avenger and on Agent Carter. He’s also appeared in The Devil’s Double, Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter, Need For Speed, and Dracula Untold. He’s next set to appear in the indies The Lady in the Van and Miss You Already. He’s also be starring in the blockbuster video game adaptation Warcraft.

Cooper is repped by CAA and Markham, Froggatt and Irwin.

AMC’s official synopsis of Preacher:

“’Preacher’ follows Reverend Jesse Custer, a tough Texas preacher who has lost his faith, and has learned that God has left Heaven and abandoned his responsibilities. He finds himself the only person capable of tracking God down, demanding answers, and making him answer for his dereliction of duty. Accompanying Jesse on his journey is his former girlfriend and a friendly vampire who seems to prefer a pint in the pub to the blood of the innocent. On his tail is one of the most iconic bad guys in print – an immortal, unstoppable killing machine named the Saint of Killers —a western lone gunman archetype whose sole purpose is to hunt and kill Jesse.”

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Clark Allen | Associate Editor