Landing a gig on a high-profile show like Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. might be a pretty satisfactory way to satiate an actor’s desire to be part of a comic book-based property, but not for greedy, greedy Ruth Negga. Deadline reports that the actor, who currently plays Raina on the Marvel show, has just landed the role of the female lead in AMC’s upcoming adaptation of the brutal comic series Preacher.
Negga is the first person to be cast in the series, based on Garth Ennis and Steve Dillon’s ’90s comic. As we first reported last year, AMC has ordered the drama pilot with an eye to bringing it to the channel in 2016. This marks the latest in a long line of efforts to finally bring Preacher to screens, with producers Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg finally moving forward with Sam Catlin in place to serve as showrunner, as well as write the pilot. Rogen and Goldberg will direct. The story is about Jesse Custer, a small-town Texas pastor who develops the ability (after merging with another being, don’t ask) to make anyone do what he says. Negga will play his ex-girlfriend Tulip, a super-badass, while it remains to be seen who will play the Irish vampire Cassidy, the bloodsucker who accompanies them on a literal quest to find God.
That explanation may sound a little absurd, but believe us, it’s not even close to how insane the comic gets. We’re excited to see AMC gamble on the property in hopes of another Walking Dead-sized hit, but frankly, we’re a little dubious. Have we mentioned the character named Assface whose mouth actually looks like an asshole? We can’t wait for the licensing deal that produces plush Assface dolls.