A Watchmen TV show has been in the works off-and-on for years now, and the past year has seen progress pick off with Lost vet Damon Lindelof's take on Alan Moore's acclaimed superhero comic series. Although all signs pointed toward Lindelof's version making it to the small screen, nothing was entirely certain, and this wasn't the first time the odds were good for the Watchmen to make their small screen debut. Now we finally have some definitive news about the project: HBO has officially given a series order to Watchmen.
While the Watchmen series will feature elements of the original graphic novel that is so beloved by readers and even viewers of the 2009 film adaptation from Zack Snyder (who had been behind a previous attempt to get a Watchmen show on the airwaves), the new project won't be an exact adaptation of the graphic novel. Rather, the new Watchmen series will be a project that "embraces the nostalgia" of Alan Moore's comic but strive to break new ground on its own.
The confirmation that the HBO project won't be a direct adaptation of the comic may come as a disappointment to any who were crossing their fingers that the Watchmen's story as originally printed would be followed to the letter (or as much as possible) for the show, but it could bode very well for Watchmen as an ongoing show. Unlike the A Song of Ice and Fire series that inspired HBO's smash hit Game of Thrones, Watchmen is not comprised of thousands of pages of source material. If Watchmen was limited to what happened in Alan Moore's comic, it could run out of steam relatively quickly. As long as that controversial element from the comic is adapted, surely many will be happy!
Besides, HBO ran into problems more or less sticking to the A Song of Ice and Fire stories for Game of Thrones, although Watchmen surely wouldn't face the same problems. Alan Moore and George R.R. Martin didn't handle their stories the same way. A Watchmen series that doesn't exactly follow the Watchmen source material may be a very good thing. After all, Damon Lindelof is a longtime fan of the Watchmen comic. If anybody can be trusted to adapt the nostalgia of the source material while also taking it in some dangerous new directions, it's Lindelof.
Damon Lindelof is on board as writer and executive producer for HBO's Watchmen. He's joined in an executive producing capacity by Nicole Kassell, Tom Spezialy, Stephen Williams, and Joseph Iberti. Kassell will direct the pilot, and Williams is on board as a director as well. The show is in the works to debut at some point in 2019. Sadly, no details about a premiere date are available at this point. In fact, a great deal of the Watchmen production is still shrouded in secrecy, including who the impressive cast (including a DCEU favorite) will play. Here's how HBO announced the exciting news:
For more on Watchmen, take a look at our updated cast list to discover who will appear on the series. Stay tuned to CinemaBlend for the latest in superhero news, and be sure to swing by our rundown of fall TV premiere dates to discover what you can watch to pass the time until Watchmen hits the airwaves next year.
