After the critical diasaster that was Kevin Smith’s last movie, the wacky police comedy Cop Out starring Bruce Willis and Tracey Morgan, the director is looking to try something a little different next time around.

For the first time, Smith is looking to make something other than a comedy and instead, veer off in another direction. That direction? Horror. The destination? Red State.

Smith says Red State will be a quixotic and frightening take on the infamous Reverend Fred Phelps, an American preacher who has become known in recent years for protesting homosexuality at the funerals of American soldiers.

Smith told Rotten Tomatoes that the project is “very much about that subject matter, that point of view and that position taken to the absolute extreme. It’s certainly not Phelps himself but it’s very much inspired by a Phelps (like) figure.”

Now CinemaBlend reports that Smith has found his Phelps (like) figure. Grindhouse and Kill Bill star Michael Parks has signed on to play the lunatic in Smith’s screamer.

Smith announced the news at this year’s Comic-Con, which was being picketed by, don’t you know, none other than Fred Phelps.

There’s no set timetable for shooting or releasing Red State just yet. Smith has been trying to get the project off the ground for almost five years, but has had trouble securing financing after announcing his previous producing partners the Weinstein’s had passed on the project.