With DJ Caruso directing Preacher, it becomes the second cult western literary adaptation to be taken on by an averagely talented, workhorse director (although Caruso doesn’t even come close to Ron Howard’s league). This might be the natural evolution of “geek” properties being co-opted by Hollywood. A decade ago, it was Sam Raimi bringing his Evil Dead prowess to a web-slinging comic of note. Now, the grittier material is getting notice, but middling directors will start earning the paycheck. So it goes. The list of directors who could bring the story of a Texas preacher man whose been imbued with the power of pure goodness and pure evil (and the power to command people to do his bidding) to life is a long one. So is the list of directors better suited than DJ Caruso. Here are just seven of them (ranging from the obvious to the not-so), but feel free to brainstorm more:

After the rumors and speculation (and the years of development hell), DJ Caruso has utilized twitter to proclaim that he’ll be directing Preacher. Be waiting for the announcement of their PG-13 shooting goal fairly soon. Was The Salton Sea a good movie? Of course. It wasn’t off the charts, but it was a competent thriller, and Caruso has proven that he can make a movie look like a movie. Especially his action sequences. Unfortunately, his three most recent flicks have all been watered-down, convoluted messes that play out like a sophomore in high school discovered old Twilight Zone episodes. Trix aren’t for kids. DJ Caruso is. Maybe he’s been biding his time with schlock while trying to make a name big enough for himself to land something challenging like Preacher, but that’s difficult to believe. The only optimism here comes in the form of John August. Up to this point, Caruso has only directed scripts from the wet behind the ears and the averagely talented. Now, he has a veteran storyteller crafting a complex story. Who knows. Maybe that’s the key to success here. Maybe if Caruso gets a solid script, he’ll shoot the hell out of it. [Film Stage]

That comic book all the kids seem to love, “Preacher,” has been tied with “Y: The Last Man” for Closest To Becoming a Movie Without Actually Becoming a Movie for what seems like a few years (because it has been). Now, / is reporting that D.J. Caruso might be the man for the job if I Am Number Four does solidly at the box office. Is he the best choice? No. Is he the worst? No. He’s exactly in between. Disturbia was a middling thriller, Eagle Eye was a convoluted mess, so there’s nothing in Caruso’s current body of work to show that he could pull this off. Making Preacher would take brass buttons and would be a harder R than Caruso has probably seen let alone directed. If done right. The other option is for Caruso to take over the helm and water everything down until the story about an ex-Man of the Cloth hunting down God with a vampire and hit-woman because a PG-13 delight that all the kids can enjoy. I suppose this all might mean that Joe Carnahan never worked out. Just like Tank Girl director Rachel Talalay. Just like Sam Mendes. Caruso simply hasn’t shown that he could handle the subject matter which makes him a boring choice. It would be a shame to hand over an explosive property to a director who’s avoided adult situations like avian flu (especially since it would most likely mean neutering a great script from John August and a [Due to Content Scraping and Theft, we have been forced to try abbreviated feeds. We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause and woud very much appreciate you clicking through to view the full article on FilmSchoolRejects.com]

What Sam Mendes might be doing when he should be directing Preacher.

Sam Mendes is the latest director signed on to tackle the project, but should we put our faith in him?

Over the years I did manage to sneak a peek at several of these illustrated books, and one series in particular caught my eye. That series was Preacher, and between the bright, breathing art of Steve Dillon and the sharp and hilarious writing of Garth Ennis.