HBO’s ‘Watchmen’ isn’t a Direct Adaptation of the Comic, Says Showrunner Damon Lindelof
Director Zack Snyder’s Watchmen, barring the exclusion of a certain giant squid at a crucial point in its story, is quite possibly one of the most faithful adaptations of a comic book on the big screen, which led to some fans to wonder why showrunner Damon Lindelof (who, like Snyder, was a big fan of the graphic novel) would want to make a new adaptation for HBO. Lindelof’s most recent post on Day 140 of pre-production suggests that the story won’t be a twelve-hour adaptation of the original story, but a retelling with a different take on the setting.
Using Instagram, Lindelof explained in painstaking detail that his story for HBO’s Watchmen is not what fans are expecting. He detailed his entire creative process in a five-page letter to the fans, which can be read below:
To make Lindelof’s long story short, it sounds as though the events of the Watchmen comic already happened in this story, meaning that the work won’t be an adaptation of the original comic by Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons, although the events of the series will be referenced. It also sounds like this will have nothing to do with the ongoing Doomsday Clock comic book event that serves as a crossover between Watchmen and the mainstream DC Universe. Fans can expect to see new characters (and new costumed heroes) to appear on the show, however. While HBO’s Watchmen won’t be a conventional sequel to the groundbreaking comic book series that inspired it, it sounds like it will be a unique take on superheroes in and of itself.
Grant Davis is a freelance writer who has covered entertainment news for more than seven years. His articles have frequently appeared in Star Wars News Net as well as as other entertainment-related websites. As someone who grew up on Star Wars and comic book movies, he’s completely thrilled with the current era of genre entertainment.
