Moviefone Editorial

Tag: watchmen

  • Here’s the Mysterious First Look at HBO’s ‘Watchmen’ Series

    Here’s the Mysterious First Look at HBO’s ‘Watchmen’ Series

    HBO

    HBO and Damon Lindelof have finally released a first look at their hotly-anticipated “Watchmen” series. And just like the premise for the show itself, it’s equal parts intriguing and perplexing.

    The imagery comes in the form of a motion poster that both Lindelof and the show’s official Instagram account shared on social media on Monday, along with the tagline, “Who watches the Watchmen?” So far, it’s unclear if the person depicted in this teaser is Watchmen, watcher, or some combination of both.

    https://www.instagram.com/p/Bo9hwa2H1vb/?taken-by=damonlindelof

    The unnamed character — who appears to be completely original, and not one of the figures familiar to fans of Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons’s graphic novel series — is clad in a police uniform, suggesting they’re someone in power. But they’re also sporting a yellow mask over much of the lower part of their face (only the eyes are visible, just barely), which is the color of the Watchmen. So what gives?

    It’s unlikely that HBO or Lindelof will reveal too much more just yet, which is in keeping with what little information has been meted out about the series so far. The buzzy concept — which Lindelof attempted to explain in an open letter that clocked in at a whopping five pages — is inspired by the “Watchmen” comics, but will not be a direct adaptation, and will instead feature many new characters and be set in the present day. Lindelof said it would be a “remix” of the classic series, and not a reboot or sequel.

    If that description doesn’t intrigue you, perhaps the show’s insanely-starry cast will. The lineup includes Jeremy Irons (rumored to be playing a lord of a British manor),  Regina King, Don Johnson, Tim Blake Nelson, Louis Gossett Jr., Adelaide Clemens, Andrew Howard,  Yahya Abdul-Mateen II (the villain in the upcoming “Aquaman“), Tom Mison, Frances Fisher, Jacob Ming-Trent, Sara Vickers, Dylan Schombing, Lily Rose Smith, and Adelynn Spoon.

    No word yet on an official premiere date, though Lindelof announced that production began on Monday. “Watchmen” is set to debut on HBO sometime in 2019.

  • HBO Officially Picks Up ‘Watchmen’ for 2019 Series Premiere

    HBO Officially Picks Up ‘Watchmen’ for 2019 Series Premiere

    Watchmen
    HBO

    It’s official: HBO picked up Damon Lindelof‘s “Watchmen” for a 2019 premiere.

    The star-studded series was always expected to get the green light, but the network confirmed everything Friday, and shared the first tantalizing mini teaser:

    Damon Lindelof is a true “Watchmen” fan, and posted a lengthy letter on Instagram outlining his love for the comic and his plans to “remix” — not “adapt” — the series.

    The giant “Watchmen” cast includes Jeremy Irons, Regina King, Don Johnson, Tim Blake Nelson, Louis Gossett Jr., Adelaide Clemens, Andrew Howard, Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, Tom Mison, Frances Fisher, Jacob Ming-Trent, Sara Vickers, Dylan Schombing, Lily Rose Smith, and Adelynn Spoon.

    “Watchmen” is set in an alternate version of history where superheroes are treated as outlaws.

    As Lindelof explained in his letter back in May:

    “We have no desire to ‘adapt’ the twelve issues Mr. Moore and Mr. Gibbons created thirty years ago. Those issues are sacred ground and they will not be retread nor recreated nor reproduced nor rebooted.

    They will, however, be remixed. Because the bass lines in those familiar tracks are just too good and we’d be fools not to sample them. Those original twelve issues are our Old Testament. When the New Testament came along, it did not erase what came before it. Creation. The Garden of Eden. Abraham and Isaac. The Flood. It all happened. And so it will be with Watchmen. The Comedian died. Dan and Laurie fell in love. Ozymandias saved the world and Dr. Manhattan left it just after blowing Rorschach to pieces in the bitter cold of Antarctica.

    To be clear. Watchmen is canon.

    Just the way Mr. Moore wrote it, the way Mr. Gibbons drew it and the way the brilliant john Higgins colored it.

    But we are not making a ‘sequel’ either. 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. 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 comic book was previously adapted into a 2009 Zack Snyder movie. Stay tuned for more details on this HBO series, and a premiere date beyond “2019.”

    Speculation time: Will “Watchmen” air after the final season of “Game of Thrones”? Be paired with it in some way? Because now we have (at least) two major HBO series arriving on mystery dates in 2019. Guessing GoT airs first, with “Watchmen” to follow in the second half of the year. But we shall see.

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