Preacher Cast Talks Season 2's Move To New Orleans

06/26/2017 10:00 am EDT

In its second season, AMC's Preacher will move locations from Albuquerque, New Mexico (standing in for Texas) to shooting on location in New Orleans. While the show's cast is excited about the new location, the characters they play have reason to be somewhat hesitant about visiting The Big Easy.

"[Tulip] doesn't want to go back for one particular reason," says Ruth Negga in an interview on set. "Tulip has many incarnations, and she's remodeled herself after Dallas. And she had this life. And this life, part of it took place here, but she ended it abruptly in a manner which could have violent ramifications for her."

"She tries to dissuade Jesse from going back to New Orleans, but she can't tell him the real reason," Negga continues. "Because that's not what she does. She doesn't like hanging on to things. Why should you open a can of worms? It's very practical. She constantly thinks practically. But in a way, there's something bigger that she's not anticipating or expecting that is far scarier awaiting her, which is always the way, isn't it?"

The vampire Cassidy has a unique point of view on New Orleans.

"There's nowhere else like New Orleans as far as I've seen anywhere here in the States. This is just visually stunning, you know. It seems to embrace decay out here," says Joseph Gilgun. "I think for Cassidy being in a place like that, a guy who can't decay, who would just do anything to fall apart and simply never does, I think that really changes the dynamic for Cassidy."

"I think there's a lot of trouble in New Orleans," he continues. "For both Cassidy and for Tulip, there's a history there. I think Cassidy, it would seem, has a f***ing history everywhere. I don't think it would matter where he went, there'd be some s**t he'd have to deal with there."

New Orleans unconventional spiritual and religious history intertwines with Jesse Custer's quest throughout the season.

"The culture of voodoo and stuff really plays into Jesse's family and their heritage," Dominic Cooper says. "That family's heritage. It definitely gives it a richness. And I hope we're getting enough of, just the beauty of it, of the landscape and the architecture. But you feel it in the air when you're here. You feel chaos and merriment. And it's always been that way.

Graham McTavish, who plays the Saint of Killers, points out that the city is practically a character unto itself and one that the Saint can strangely relate to.

"The thing about New Orleans is, it's a character in the show. It's a character when you visit it, just as a tourist. It is like a living entity, that city. You can feel it," McTavish says. "There are a few cities like that that I've lived in or worked in, where you can feel a particular kind of energy crackling around you. I think that's definitely in the show. "

"To take a cowboy and place him in a place like New Orleans, never mind whether it's the 21st century or not, because I think New Orleans, weirdly enough, it's timeless. It's got so much connected to it that is of another time, you feel that when you're walking around it...There are things about New Orleans that would certainly be familiar to him. The sort of excess of that world, in some way, would strike a chord with somebody from the 19th century and in the West. New Orleans provides that."

Preacher Season 2 premieres June 25 at 9 p.m. ET on AMC.

MORE PREACHER NEWS: Season 2 Sneak Peeks Released / Preacher Season 2 Trailer / Exclusive: Preacher Season 2 Cassidy Key Art / Preacher Season 2 Teaser Trailer

Disclosure: ComicBook is owned by CBS Interactive, a division of Paramount. Sign up for Paramount+ by clicking here.