Despite being a lover of Watchmen just as much as any comic book aficionado (and someone who was fortunate enough to have their copy signed by co-creator Dave Gibbons), I must confess that I’m simultaneously relieved and concerned about HBO’s upcoming series being an original story, not an adaptation.
Don’t get me wrong, the source material would lend itself well to a serialized television show, but Zack Snyder’s film from 2009 was very much accurate to that. As such, yet another adaptation at this point would seem quite redundant, barring the inclusion of the giant squid.
Of course, there were other stories to use as inspiration, namely the Before Watchmen series of prequel books, but I guess showrunner Damon Lindelof has an entirely separate sequel of sorts in mind that’ll diverge greatly from the currently ongoing Doomsday Clock being published by DC Entertainment. Long story short, Ozymandias appears to be dead on the show, but in Geoff Johns’ literary followup, he’s alive – even if he’s got a brain tumor.
So, as production continues ramping up, so too shall the cast be rounded out.
Strangely enough, Jeremy Irons won’t be the only actor from the DC Extended Universe joining this endeavor, for Aquaman star Yahya Abdul-Mateen II – that’s right, Black Manta himself – has been added to fold, in addition to Sara Vickers (Shetland).
Unfortunately, the studio is willing to provide absolutely zilch when it comes to their characters’ names or anything about them, so we may very well have to wait until the time of premiere before learning more – or, at least, until a publication such as Entertainment Weekly or Empire is given privilege to blow the lid off this iteration of Watchmen.