For all its initial trailers and pilot reviews, AMC’s Preacher has done a serviceable job of keeping its pilot under wraps, save for one widely-reported gag that emerged out of SXSW screenings. The bit even appears to have caught the attention of Tom Cruise, as Seth Rogen reveals that the actor’s camp reached out over an explosive joke.

You’re warned of minor spoilers for the AMC Preacher premiere (some fans were unfortunately spoiled on the gag in question ahead of time), but potentially the pilot’s most memorable moment sees various preachers around the world possessed, then violently exploded. Among the emissaries dispatched in such a violent fashion? None other than Cruise himself, of whom co-creator Seth Rogen revealed to UPROXX that AMC fielded a call from Tom Cruise’s representation:

We might have got a call from his camp just kind of asking what the story was. I’m not sure how that wrapped itself up … I think they heard about it. I think his people have access to every website on the planet.

In particular, Rogen noted that he hasn’t as of yet been made to address the gag, saying “I’m a coward. I try to avoid those kind of things at all costs.” Previously, the Neighbors 2 star offered that he’d surely run into Cruise one day, as well that “I’ll have to explain that. I’ll have to come up with a way in my head to make it seem complimentary but I haven’t done it yet.”

Time will tell if AMC’s Preacher consistently brings the same kind of attention-grabbing humor as its pilot gag, the explosive nature of which you can see for yourself on May 22.

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