The pilot episode of AMC’s Preacher got its first public showing at SXSW yesterday, and most reactions have been very positive. Of course, some details about the pilot are now starting to leak out, including information on a major, unexpected cameo.
SPOILERS for both the Preacher comic book and TV show ahead. You’ve been forewarned!
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Okay, so, for those who never read Preacher, the basic premise is that Jesse Custer is accidentally inhabited by Genesis, a being created by the unholy coupling of an angel and a demon. This gives him supernatural powers, but the process of being possessed destroys his church and kills his entire congregation.
Perhaps in an attempt to avoid too much undue religious controversy, the Preacher TV show re-imagines Genesis as an alien presence, and Jesse isn’t the first preacher its tried to possess. Unfortunately, all the other preachers can’t handle the power and literally explode. The episode shows a montage of preachers exploding around the world, including none other than Tom Cruise, who we see standing outside a Scientology church before he’s reduced to pulp.
It’s unlikely Cruise actually showed up to the Preacher set (they probably just used pre-existing Cruise footage), but it’s still a pretty cheeky joke, which Preacher co-producer Evan Goldberg didn’t think they’d get away with, saying:
“It’s amazing, no one said anything! We kept waiting for somebody to say ‘no’ and now it’s too late.”
It certainly makes sense for Tom Cruise to be involved in a story about aliens getting mixed up in religion. Sometimes a joke is just too perfect to cut.
You’ll get to watch Tom Cruise explode for yourself when Preacher debuts on May 22.
(Via Entertainment Weekly)
