It’s official: Damon Lindelof’s Watchmen series is headed to HBO.
On Friday, the premium cable network announced it has put in a full series order for Watchmen, based on the landmark DC Comics series by Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons. According to the show’s logline, the adaptation will be “set in an alternate history where ‘superheroes’ are treated as outlaws.”
The series will attempt to “break new ground” while “embrac[ing] the nostalgia of the original ... graphic novel.”
That is, Lindelof’s Watchmen will not quite be a direct adaptation. As the writer previously explained in an open letter, his show will be a “remix” of the original 12 issues.
“This story will be set in the world its creators painstakingly built,” wrote Lindelof. “But in the tradition of the work that inspired it, this new story must be original. ... It must ask new questions and explore the world through a fresh lens.
“Most importantly, it must be contemporary,” he continued.
The Watchmen cast will include Regina King, Jeremy Irons, Don Johnson, Tim Blake Nelson, Louis Gossett Jr., Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, Adelaide Clemens, Andrew Howard, Tom Mison, Frances Fisher, Jacob Ming-Trent, Sara Vickers, Dylan Schombing, Lily Rose Smith and Adelynn Spoon.
In addition to Lindelof, Nicole Kassell, Tom Spezialy, Stephen Williams and Joseph Iberti will serve as executive producers on the show.
Watchmen will premiere in 2019.
