SDCC ’17: The Preacher Panel Is ‘Questionable Until The End’ With Seth Rogen And Cast

 

At the Preacher panel at San Diego Comic-Con on Friday night, panelists were ushered on to the tunes of a brass band following the screening of a new trailer, to applause.
Chris Hardwick brought the panelists on, including Seth Rogen, Dominic Cooper, Ruth Nega, Joe Gilgun, and Graham McTavish, and Ian Colletti.
Rogan said the overall theme of looking for God was “compelling and relatable” and the fact that Preacher contains all these different genres is very appealing. If the show can have “all that shit” and still make sense—that’s the goal.
The relationship between Jesse and Tulip is part of the real structure for the show, though, and Rogen feels it will make the show compelling for some time to come.
Rogen was aware that many of the people seeing the show wouldn’t be comic book fans, so they filtered some of the content material to make it more “digestible”.
Rogen said he told the actors from the beginning that “we’re going to kill all of you” in the town of Annville, and no one really believed that, but it was true.
Asked about the “darker side” of Jesse, Cooper said the big darker side is being drawn out when he finds that Tulip has lied to him, and more of his darker family history is going to come out, too. Cooper says it all makes sense to him, increasingly, and “it’s fun to play”.
Cooper admitted that Jesse is now using the voice “sporadically” and at will, and that’s going to keep showing off “massive flaws in his character”. His motives will be “questionable until the end”.
Ruth Nega was asked what Tulip’s true nature is, and she said that there’s an “innate intelligence” there. Nega thinks Trulip has never really tried to fit in, and finds it “distasteful”. She feels that Tulip and Jesse have taken “different forks in the road” and the “God business doesn’t interest her”. She’s angry with Jesse and things may not be possible for them to reconcile, based on Nega’s commentary.
Gilgun was asked if Cassidy is beyond redemption, and he was a little distracted by the fact that Cooper had dumped a bag of glitter on his head earlier that day, and the sharp bits were now filtering into his “buttcrack”.
Gilgun admitted that Cassidy has done terrible things, but being with Jesse and Tulip is like being in rehab for him, providing “something stable”. He wants to remain with them for that reason. Jesse is very honest with him, calling him a “vampire junkie” and Cassidy wants that honesty.
Hardwick said that Jesse can never find out what happened between Tulip and Cassidy, and Gilgun said that Cassidy has tried to tell Jesse a number of times, but there is a little reminder that honesty isn’t possible.
McTavish plays the Saint of Killers, and was asked about the character’s “singularity of purpose”. McTavish says he tries to relate his roles to reality, but people can identify with “having a purpose in life”. The Saint’s purpose—protecting his family—was taken away, and not his new purpose is to be reunited with them. He “carries with him the love for his family throughout the terrible acts of violence he commits”.
Asked about the “appliance process” for being Arseface, Colletti said it’s complicated, using a one-time use mask each day. He said the lower half of his face doesn’t really move and it’s like “puppeteering” to have facial expressions. He said he felt “very naked” to suddenly do scenes with the mask gone this season. It’s going to be a “tough road ahead for Eugene”, Colletti said. Now that he’s in hell, away from the other characters, he has to ask many questions about himself and whether he’s redeemable in different ways.
Rogen was asked about The Grail, a super-secret organization, and he said that an arm of their unit is ruled over by Herr Starr, who’s one of the best characters in the comics. They are a “religiously inclined” organization that “runs the planet in many ways”.
The audience was shown a clip of Herr Star, going through the trials that made him the man he has become.
The panelists welcomed Pip Torenns, Julie Anne Emery, and Malcolm Barrett.
Barrett said that comicon is his “thing” and was here a couple of years ago “just walking around” as a fan.
Nega said she’s “interested in defying expectations” and she thinks that Tulip is, as well.
Asked about filming difficult scenes, Cooper said that having to adapt to changing circumstances is harder than complicated choreography.
Asked if he’s going to play a role in the show, Rogen said, “There is a role that I would potentially do”.
Rogen is surprised at the things he’s able to do on Television, assuming previously he’d have more limitations. As the show continues, which he hopes will “continue to be watchable”, fans will be surprised “how much stuff from the comics we’re including”.