Samuel L. Jackson Could Play an Evil Preacher in Stephen King’s REVIVAL
Earlier this month we learned that director Josh Boone (The Fault of Our Stars) would direct a big screen adaptation of Stephen King’s novel Revival. Boone was previously developing The Stand as a film but put it on hold to do this one first.
The story centers on a fascinating charismatic preacher named Charles Jacobs who starts to experiment with the supernatural powers of electricity after his family is killed in a gruesome car accident. He becomes a little crazy and denounces God and religion during a sermon. He is then banished from the town and becomes a sideshow huckster and a faith healer — using an electrical treatment to heal people.
According to EW, Boone is looking to cast Samuel L. Jackson in the role of the preacher, which would be an incredibly amazing role for Jackson to take on. Something like this could be one of the highlights of his movie career, so I hope he takes it!
There is another main character in the story named Jamie Morton who has a drug problem and is “saved” by Jacobs when he cures him of his addiction. There are strange side effects, though, and this leads him on a journey to find out what happened to some of the other people that Jacobs “saved.” There’s no word on who will take this role, but I’m sure Boone will cast another great actor.
Here’s the description from the book:
In a small New England town, over half a century ago, a shadow falls over a small boy playing with his toy soldiers. Jamie Morton looks up to see a striking man, the new minister. Charles Jacobs, along with his beautiful wife, will transform the local church. The men and boys are all a bit in love with Mrs. Jacobs; the women and girls feel the same about Reverend Jacobs—including Jamie’s mother and beloved sister, Claire. With Jamie, the Reverend shares a deeper bond based on a secret obsession. When tragedy strikes the Jacobs family, this charismatic preacher curses God, mocks all religious belief, and is banished from the shocked town.
Jamie has demons of his own. Wed to his guitar from the age of thirteen, he plays in bands across the country, living the nomadic lifestyle of bar-band rock and roll while fleeing from his family’s horrific loss. In his mid-thirties—addicted to heroin, stranded, desperate—Jamie meets Charles Jacobs again, with profound consequences for both men. Their bond becomes a pact beyond even the Devil’s devising, and Jamie discovers that revival has many meanings.
This wouldn’t be Jackson’s first time entering the world of Stephen King. He previously co-starred in the big screen adaption of 1408 alongside John Cusack.