Exclusive: Preacher Season 2 Cassidy Key Art

The Almighty better watch His back because there’s a dangerous trio coming for him.

ComicBook.com can exclusively reveal character-centric key art for the second season of AMC‘s Preacher featuring the Irish vampire Cassidy (Joeseph Gilgun). ComicBook.com also spoke to Gilgun about what fans should expect from Preacher‘s second season.

Preacher Season Two sees Cassidy joining his friends Jesse Custer (Dominic Cooper) and Tulip O’Hare (Ruth Negga) on an epic road trip to find God. Here’s AMC’s updated synopsis for Preacher Season Two:

Based on the popular cult comic book franchise of the same name, “Preacher” is an absurdly twisted and action packed thrill ride. When Jesse Custer, a small-town preacher with a criminal past, realizes God is absent from Heaven, Jesse sets out to find Him. Along for the ride are Tulip, Jesse’s volatile true love, and Cassidy, an 119 year old Irish vampire and Jesse’s best mate. The gang ends up in New Orleans, where they must dodge local gangsters, dangerous secret agents in white suits, and the Saint of Killers, an unstoppable killer cowboy from Hell.

Preacher Season 2 also has a new premiere date of July 25.

Read our chat with Gilgun below and see the full key art in the attached gallery.

How has the experience of returning to Cassidy for Preacher‘s second season compared to learning to play the character in the first season?

Joseph Gilgun: I’ll be honest with you, it’s been kind of challenging. I mean Cassidy was well received last year, so you’re just hoping you’re doing as good a job and it’s very very difficult to gauge. You can watch your stuff back and it just makes no difference really. You’re still just as unsure. But I’m my own worst critic you know. Everything I do, I always feel is terrible, like I feel like I could have done more or been better.

Where do we find Cassidy when the second season of Preacher picks up? What’s his state of mind?

JG: He’s excited. Cassidy is excited for the adventure I think more than anything. I think he, in his head, he’s got this fairytale of sex, drugs, and rock and roll with his two best friends, one of which he’s kind of in love with. I just think, in Cassidy’s f***ing moronic brain, what could possibly go wrong?

Of course, everything goes wrong. And not the kind of s**t you would expect either. It’s all bulls**t stuff that goes wrong. Life stuff that affects human beings, not renegade preachers and female assassins and Irish vampires. Normal life stuff that just creeps up and bites you on the ass.

That leads into my next question, which is about the challenges that Cassidy and the gang will face in Preacher‘s second season, as well as you yourself as an actor. It sounds like the mundane ones are more difficult than the supernatural ones.

JG: Definitely, definitely. You know it’s just trying not to be too self-conscious with your character. I love Cass and I love Preacher, and I love what it’s giving me, so obviously for me, and for Dominic and for Ruth, I’m going to try and protect that and so, the most difficult part it’s just letting it go and just trying to remember to enjoy yourself. If you’re not having a good time, it reflects on TV. I think people can see that, so we do enjoy it. We do enjoy what we do. So, I think more than anything, the biggest challenge day after day is just trying not to feel like the world’s worst actor and just doing your job and just trying to enjoy it

Compared to the first season, what’s the biggest change or shift you’ve noticed in the second season of Preacher?

JG: I think it’s definitely the pace. It’s slowed a little bit in season two and I think, it kind of needs to be to some degree. We are starting to venture into the comics now. We’ve got a lot of new characters coming in from the comic. For those people who don’t read comics and who aren’t interested in reading the comic, we need to be able to tell it for those people and so it’s a slower grind.

It’s not gonna be this roller coaster. I think, as an audience, we have Seth and Evan and Sam and the boys and I think they all wanted you to feel like, “Here we go!” and “What could possibly stop them now?” And of course, everything gets in the way. Life is a general nightmare for most people and our trio is no different. Life gets in their way as well.

How has the change in pace and road trip structure affected the relationships between Cassidy, Jesse, and Tulip?

JG: There was breathing space at Annville. If someone pissed you off, you can get out of there. They can be on their own. If you’re in a car, there’s nowhere you can go.

I think that they just get a little sick of one another, you know what I mean? I think the bulls**t starts to wear thin. Like Jesse’s constant mission for God gets f***ing tiresome, and also a little arrogant, you know. And Tulip starts to really suffer and go into herself and Cassidy has got this f***ing nightmare problem from his past to deal with. It’s really difficult.

The reality really starts kicking in for them. I think love is about how much you can stand from one another. All the other stuff’s a bonus. You know, the feeling good and passion and all that bulls**t. All that’s a bonus, but more than anything love and real love that lasts a long time is about how much you can bear, how much you can put up with. And, they’re really starting to find out.

They’re seeing each other, warts and all, for the first time I think. Annville was a little bit of a honeymoon period, and I think they’re getting into the reality of their friendship now. And it’s a very intense one that’s obviously going to come with a lot of drama, especially amongst each other. They f***ing get tired of one another I think more than anything. I think it’s almost a maternal irritability with one another. They get on each other’s f***ing nerves. It’s not that they don’t love each other, but it’s not to say they couldn’t kill you in that moment. You know what I mean?

Sounds a lot like they’re a family.

JG: Yeah, yeah it’s that.

There were a few scenes in the first season that turned up the gore and violence and grindhouse feel of Preacher. How does season two compare in that regard?

JG: I feel like it’s on a level for me. There’s plenty of violence in it. Jesse does a lot of asskicking. I know Fiore gets badly f***ed up early on. So there’s a lot of blood, guts, and violence.

Cassidy, for me personally, It has to be said, I’ve been super jealous and pissy about it, and they’ve been good enough to give me a few guys to kill recently, but I think that Cassidy, this year, is preoccupied with problems. That being said, I’ve just been in for a fight rehearsal today, so it is about to go off again.

What does Cassidy think of Jesse’s mission to find God?

JG: I think he’s open for whatever comes to be honest with you. I think 120 years has probably taught him just to let it come, go with the flow of things, and I think that’s what attracts Cassidy to Jesse initially. It’s just that he’s fascinating. Jesse’s on this quest to better himself, be a better person and you know, Cassidy can see that that’s not what he is. He is something else. He’s not being true to himself, and I think Cassidy kind of initially wanted to see how that played out, but now that there’s this mission on the road I think he believes it.

He’d be hard pushed to not believe Jesse now. There’ve been angels, there’s been Genesis, there’s been this f***ing Saint. There’s a lot going on. Suddenly, he’s not the only weirdo on Earth. I think Cassidy has probably gone for a few years without meeting anyone that’s unusual, like himself. And someone like the Saint, that’s unusual. And the angels that he thought were clones that kept respawning, and the Archangels.

What can you tell me about the villains or antagonist that will be introduced in the new season?

JG: Herr Starr is involved. We have Featherstone. They’re the two biggies for me. You’re going to love Herr Starr. He’s excellent.

You brought up the Saint of Killers earlier. What kind of relationship does he have with Cassidy? As you said, they’re both unusual individuals.

JG: They never touched on that believe it not, the writers. We didn’t touch on it, and I never mentioned it either, but I think for Cassidy, I mean, this guy can kill angels, which we’ve actually seen respawn over and over again.

This guy can kill Cass as well, and Cass has been alive, as far as he’s concerned, too long anyway.Two hundred and twenty years too long. It’s the first time Cassidy’s felt mortal for a long time, that’s for sure. More than anything, he’s just f**king fascinated by this guy. Where does he come from and why is he tracking us down? It’s very strange. I’d be extremely put out by it.

More Preacher News: Six New Actors Sign On For Season 2 / Dominic Cooper Announces Season 2 Begins Production / Ruth Negga Nominated For BAFTA Rising Star Award / AMC Issues Statement On Steve Dillon’s Death