The first actor cast for the pilot episode of AMC’s Preacher series is Ruth Negga, who plays the recurring role of Raina on Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.  The Ethiopian/Irish actress will play the character of Tulip, the sexy criminal force of nature who is the former—and only true—love of Jesse Custer, the eponymous reverend of Garth Ennis and Steve Dillon’s highly acclaimed Vertigo comic book series. 

Hollywood had been trying to figure out how to adapt Preacher for a decade and half before Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg managed to wangle a pilot commitment out of AMC (see “AMC Seals the Deal for Preacher Series”).  Now at last at least a pilot is being filmed, and the first bit of casting appears to be very genre savvy.  In addition to her work on S.H.I.E.L.D., Negga is also slated to play Lady Taria in a film based on the MMORPG World of Warcraft.

Deadline, which broke the story of Negga’s casting in Preacher, also pointed out that it “marks the second consecutive comic book-based drama project, in which Sony has cast a minority actress as the female lead, drawn as Caucasian in the comics. Preacher joins the studio’s Playstation series Powers co-starring Susan Heyward.”