'Preacher' Season 2 Trailer: A Super-Powered Preacher, A Criminal, And A Vampire Look For God
When AMC revealed the initial trailers for the first season of Preacher, fans of Garth Ennis and Steve Dillon's beloved and blasphemous comic book raised an eyebrow at the dreary tone on display. For the longest time, the network seemed to be dancing around the series' goofier aspects, trying avoid the blend of horror, comedy, and fantasy that actually drives the plot forward in favor of selling a gritty thriller to the millions of people tuning in for The Walking Dead.
All of that has changed with the new season and the new Preacher season 2 trailer is silly and weird and unapologetic about the fact that this is the story of a man with the power to command others using "the word of God" going on adventures with his deadly ex-girlfriend and an Irish vampire. Preacher is finally starting to look like Preacher.
This extends beyond the trailers as well. As much as I enjoyed the first season of Preacher, it was all prologue, treading water in the town of Annville, Texas for 10 hours. It was weird and funny and gruesome and frequently a ton of fun, but the series was undoubtedly beating around the bush. Only in the season finale did the show catch up to the comic series' first issue, with Jesse, Tulip, and Cassidy embarking on a road trip to literally find God, who has abandoned heaven, and make him answer for neglecting his creation.
As this trailer reveals, it's going to be a bumpy ride, one filled with shootouts and barfights and drug use and the abuse of supernatural powers. And after a full season of build-up, it looks like The Cowboy (known as the Saint of Killers in the comics) is finally going to take center stage and make his deadly, un-killable self known to our heroes.
While the basic plot on display here (our strange trio begins their road trip across Texas) looks to be borrowing elements from the comic's initial arc, other moments are being taken from later storylines. Much like how season one repurposed characters from much later in the comic series, Preacher season 2 is heading straight to the New Orleans storyline, which originally took place roughly halfway into the comic's entire run.
Oh, and we're finally going to properly meet Herr Starr after he was briefly teased back in the first season. This white-suited, bald-headed German operative works for a top secret organization (whose purpose will really, really offend your more religious relatives) and he's the main non-diety antagonist of Preacher. Although it hasn't been officially announced yet, that certainly looks like Pip Torrens (who joined the cast a few months ago) is playing the part.
Speaking of new cast members playing villains, it certainly looks like Game of Thrones alum Noah Taylor is playing Adolph Hitler. That's a weird choice until you remember that season one featured Eugene "Arseface" Root being sent to Hell, where he's presumably going to rub elbows with the most evil people in history. This is a big departure from the comics, but one that I can't wait to see. It's audacious, to say the very least.
Preacher season 2 is set to debut on June 25, 2017.