Sam Mendes's next project will see him re-enter the world of the graphic novel, with an adaptation of DC Comics' Preacher, Variety reports.

The Oscar-winning director will take on Garth Ennis and Steve Dillon's cult favourite about a Texan priest forced to embark on a journey across America to take on the nefarious supernatural forces which destroyed his home city. No news as yet as to casting.

Mendes's 2002 film Road to Perdition was also based on a graphic novel. The comic-book version of Preacher ran for 75 issues from 1995-2000 on the Vertigo imprint of DC, winning four prestigious Eisner awards along the way.

The British film-maker's work will next be seen in cinemas in the shape of Revolutionary Road, an adaptation of the classic Richard Yates novel of 1950s US suburban ennui, starring those erstwhile Titanic lovers Kate Winslet and Leonardo DiCaprio. The film hits cinemas in the UK on January 30.