Director Sam Mendes has opted to direct the 23rd James Bond film, which means that he won’t be helming the big screen adaptation of Garth Ennis’ acclaimed Vertigo series Preacher.  Mendes had been attached to the long-gestating Preacher project for over a year (see “Preacher Movie Back in Play”), but the Bond movie, which could start shooting as soon as June, is a major undertaking that conflicts directly with Producer Neil Moritz’s schedule for the Preacher movie.

Moritz told Collider.com that he was very happy with a screenplay by frequent Tim Burton-collaborator John August (see “Burton Collaborator to Write Preacher”).  The good news for Preacher fans is that Moritz is pleased with the script he has and is looking for a director who can get filming underway on a Preacher movie early in 2011.