12 Directors You Didn't Know Almost Made Comic Book Movies
6. Sam Mendes - Preacher
Preacher is a graphic novel series revolving around Jesse Custer, a preacher who becomes possessed by an entity known as Genesis, granting him God-like powers as he heads out in search of God itself.
Co-creator Garth Ennis originally sold the movie rights in the late 1990s, but struggled to get the film made due to its controversial religious themes. James Marsden ended up cast by 2002, but budgetary concerns ultimately nuked production.
After HBO attempted to get the film made but ultimately bailed, the rights ended up with Columbia Pictures by 2008, with Sam Mendes (American Beauty, Skyfall) set to direct. Of course, word soon enough went dark, and Preacher was eventually adapted into the AMC show that premiered earlier this year to strong acclaim.
Would It Have Worked?: Mendes is a fantastic director, and some even claimed that his Skyfall was basically a superhero movie, what with its aesthetic and narrative similarities to Christopher Nolan's latter two Batman movies (something Mendes accepts was intentional). So yes, basically.