HBO is producing a pilot episode for a potential TV adaptation of Watchmen, the acclaimed comic book by Alan Moore that was already adapted into a movie by Zack Snyder. Damon Lindelof, of Lost and The Leftovers, is writing this Watchmen TV series.
Although we don’t know which characters anyone is playing, we now know that Lindelof’s Watchmen pilot will feature Regina King (The Leftovers), Tim Blake Nelson (The Incredible Hulk), Don Johnson (Miami Vice), Louis Gossett Jr (An Officer And A Gentleman), Adelaide Clemens (Silent Hill: Revelation) and Andrew Howard (Limitless). King is said to be playing the lead role.
“Some of the characters will be unknown,” Lindelof has said. “New faces. New masks to cover them. We also intend to revisit the past century of Costumed Adventuring through a surprising yet familiar set of eyes… and it is here we will be taking our greatest risks.”
Rather than retelling the story of the Watchmen comics, which was already covered by the film, Lindelof will spin a new yarn set in the same world in the present day. He explained as much on Instagram recently with a lengthy letter to Watchmen‘s devout fanbase.
“This story will be set in the world its creators painstakingly built… but in the tradition of the work that inspired it, this new story must be original,” Lindelof said in his letter. “It has to vibrate with the seismic unpredictability of its own tectonic plates. It must ask new questions and explore the world through a fresh lens. Most importantly, it must be contemporary.
“The Old Testament [of the original comics] was specific to the Eighties of Reagan and Thatcher and Gorbachev. Ours needs to resonate with the frequency of Trump and May and Putin and the horse that he rides around on, shirtless. And speaking of Horsemen, The End of the World is off the table…which means the heroes and villains–as if the two are distinguishable–are playing for different stakes entirely.”
We’ll bring you more news as we hear it.