While speaking with Collider’s SXSW correspondent Perri Nemiroff at the film festival in Austin, Goldberg discussed the TV adaptation of the Garth Ennis comic Preacher, for which he says they’ll be making some structural changes but will keep the essence of the comic intact:

“We just had a meeting with AMC and Garth Ennis, who’s the writer, and we all kind of seemed to agree that we’re gonna stay as true to the comic as we can. We need to change some stuff but we’re not gonna change much, I hope. We’re just gonna do a little more of the preamble instead of doing flashbacks and restructure how we dole out the information a little, but we’re gonna [do the] same characters, same story, same ending. We’re gonna try to stick to Preacher as best we can. We’re making it with Sam Catlin who did Breaking Bad, and so he might tell me I’m wrong about all of this and that the real way to do it is different because he’s much smarter and better at all this than I am. But we’re gonna try to stick to what it is as best we can.”

Studios have been trying to get a feature film adaptation of the dark property off the ground for years, but Goldberg says a TV iteration is the best way to tell that story:

“We’re beyond excited, we’ve tried to make it for 10 years. The big difference is everyone else tried to make it a movie and it shouldn’t be a movie. It should be an AMC show, that’s the proper way for it to get done… It’s too big; you can’t do that in a movie. It’s just too big. You’ve gotta learn the characters, it’s all about a love triangle and you need to grow with them and see the woman swayed one way or the other, and in a movie you just can’t accomplish all that.”

Quint: My biggest fear is the weirdness isn't going to make it through the system.
Evan Goldberg: Wrong. The weirdness is in.

Quint: Also, you guys might be going in with a little more power, but I've heard pretty direct and damning accounts of how AMC butt-fucked Frank Darabont.
Evan Goldberg: We went into AMC last week with Garth Ennis and I've never felt like a studio or network was more on the same page with us. We pitched them and they said, “Perfect! That's exactly what we wanted to hear. No notes.”

Seth Rogen: Last week was the first meeting we had with me, Evan and Garth Ennis and (Breaking Bad's) Sam Catlin, who is our showrunner, and AMC. I obviously was a little nervous. It seems like the language is going to be the most restrictive thing, but that I'm not worried about.

Quint: Bad words aren't important. It's being able to stick with the crazy religious shit and translate that story properly I'm worried about.
Seth Rogen: That, the religious stuff, they're totally cool with. The violence, they're totally cool with. The nudity is hard, but we can find ways around that. Overall, it was one of the best meetings I've ever had, honestly.

Evan Goldberg: It was the best meeting we've ever had.

Seth Rogen: Garth was there. You know, inevitably we'll have to change some things to make it a TV show that functions properly, so it was very nerve-wracking pitching some of those ideas in front of Garth. He couldn't have been more receptive and couldn't have been more vocal about the fact that he knows there's a core thing that needs to be maintained, but other than that there's a lot of stuff that you can lose.

Evan Goldberg: He sent us a document and it essentially explained “You can fuck around with anything, just not the three main characters and their dynamic. That's the story. It's a character story.” in the meeting, at the end they were like “Garth?” Everybody looked at him and he just (Evan nods in approval).

Seth Rogen: He was really happy.

AMC has given a pilot order to “Preacher,” a drama which has been adapted from the comic book series by Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg.

Rogen and Goldberg wrote the adaptation for Neal Moritz’s Original Film. That trio is exec producing through their Point Grey banner, along with showrunner Sam Catlin.

The Sony Pictures Television and AMC Studios co-production was a hot property when it was shopped to cable buyers earlier this year. There had been talk of a straight-to-series order but at present it is a pilot.

“’Preacher’ has been our favorite comic since it first came out,” said Rogen and Goldberg, who are also attached to direct. “Garth Ennis is one of our idols and it’s an incredible honor to be working on this. We promise we won’t make too many dick jokes and ruin it.”

Based on Ennis and Steve Dillon’s ’90s comic book series, “Preacher” is about Jesse Custer, a preacher in a Texas town who merges with a creature that has escaped from heaven and develops the ability to make anyone do anything he says. Along with his ex-girlfriend, Tulip, and an Irish vampire named Cassidy, the three embark on a journey to find God.

“Every once in a while you find a project where all the elements line up beautifully. With ‘Preacher,’ it starts with a bold, compelling, and thought-provoking comic book series from Garth Ennis and Steve Dillon and a whole lot of fans who already know Jesse Custer, Cassidy, and Tulip,” said Joel Stillerman, AMC’s executive vice president of original programming, production and digital content. “Add to that the passionate and talented Seth Rogen, Evan Goldberg, and Sam Catlin, an incredible producing team in Neal Moritz, the Original Film team and our good friends at Sony Pictures Television, and we have everything we need to be VERY excited to move forward on ‘Preacher.’”

The pilot will be produced in the summer of 2015 for series consideration in 2016.

AMC had a few other high-profile scripts in works, including “Bombingham,” the period drama from Alexander Woo.

EXCLUSIVE: Agents Of S.H.I.E.L.D.’s Ruth Negga has been cast as the female lead in Preacher, AMC’s drama pilot based on Garth Ennis and Steve Dillon’s cult 1990s comic. The project, from Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg, is about Jesse Custer, a conflicted Preacher in a small Texas town who merges with a creature that has escaped from heaven and develops the ability to make anyone do anything he says. Along with his ex-girlfriend, Tulip (Negga) — Jesse’s former and only true love — and an Irish vampire named Cassidy, the three embark on a journey to literally find God. Tulip is described as a volatile, action-packed, sexified force of nature, a capable, unrepentant criminal with a love of fashion and ability to construct helicopter-downing bazookas out of coffee cans and corn shine who’s not afraid to steal, kill or corn cob-stab her way out of a bad situation.

Negga is the first actor cast in Preacher, from Sony TV and AMC Studios. Rogen and Goldberg developed the project for television and will direct the pilot, written by Sam Catlin who serves as showrunner.

Rogen, Goldberg and Catlin executive produce with James Weaver, Neal Moritz, Vivian Cannon and Ori Marmur as well as Ken Levin and Jason Netter. Ennis and Dillon co-executive produce.

Negga has comic book credentials with her recurring role as Raina on ABC’s Agents Of S.H.I.E.L.D. In features, she shot the titular role of the Irish drama Iona, directed by Scott Graham. Negga, repped by ICM Partners and Principal Entertainment LA, was recently seen in the Jimi Hendrix biopic All Is By My Side and next plays Lady Taria in another high-profile genre project, Warcraft.

This marks the second consecutive comic book-based drama project, in which Sony has cast a minority actress as the female lead, drawn as Caucasian in the comics. Preacher joins the studio’s Playstation series Powers co-starring Susan Heyward.

AMC’s Preacher adaptation has cast another character from Garth Ennis and Steve Dillon’s cult comic. Young actor Ian Colletti (Fox’s Rake) has joined the drama pilot, from Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg. The project from Sony TV and AMC Studios is about Jesse Custer, a conflicted preacher in a small Texas town who merges with a creature that has escaped from heaven and develops the ability to make anyone do anything he says. Along with his ex-girlfriend, Tulip (Ruth Negga), and an Irish vampire named Cassidy, the three embark on a journey to literally find God.

Colletti plays Eugene Root, aka Arseface. Even with his horribly disfigured face and severe speech impediment, Eugene’s still the nicest kid you’ll ever meet and really looks up to Jesse. Stomach-churningly difficult to look at, Eugene’s the town’s reviled Frankenstein’s monster, but that won’t change his earnest, sweet and pure outlook on life. However, he is troubled by something terrible he’s done in the past — something he fears might have turned God himself against him.

Colletti, repped by CESD and Authentic Management, is the second actor cast in Preacher, joining Negga. His credits include the title role in the indie Jimmy.