It has been long been regarded as the greatest graphic novel ever written. Written by Alan Moore and with art by Dave Gibbons, Watchmen has stood the test of time since its release in 1985. Nothing comes close to it and naturally Hollywood had to have a crack at it. Zack Snyder’s 2009 film proved to be divisive although it adhered to the source material rather faithfully except for a couple major changes. Now it looks like Nite Owl, Silk Spectre, Rorschach and co. will be back on our screens. TV screens that is, as HBO is reportedly developing a new Watchmen series according to Variety.
For many fans that in itself is controversial enough but HBO went one step further and are in talks with the divisive Damon Lindelof to develop it. Lindelof has felt the wrath of fans numerous times – not least for his work on Lost. However, it must be said his most recent effort The Leftovers, has been fairly well received. Another important thing to note is that HBO are no schmucks when it comes to this sort of thing. The network behind the world-conquering Game of Thrones and new hit Westworld, they certainly know their stuff.
Watchmen was always intended to simply be a singular story, so it appears likely any new series will have to expand upon the original. Of course, DC released a set of prequel comics back in 2012 so there are now 37 other issues of Watchmen mythos that HBO can mine for stories.
HBO had previously attempted to get the wheels spinning on a television series based on the long-thought unadaptable novel in 2014 but those plans fell through. This new series headed by Lindelof will be completely independent of that failed attempt.
There is certainly reason to be excited for the direction HBO take the story. There’s currently no release date, but for more news, reviews and updates stick with TiCGN.
