HBO's Watchmen TV series will premiere in 2019; Regina King, Jeremy Irons, Don Johnson cast in pilot

The TV show based on Watchmen comic book series has received a series order from HBO. The channel’s first-ever superhero series is based on the characters from the DC Comics property and will be developed by writer Damon Lindelof, IndieWire reports. The studio also unveiled a star-studded cast for the series which includes Regina King, Jeremy Irons, Don Johnson, Tim Blake Nelson, Louis Gossett Jr and others. [caption id=“attachment_4995091” align=“alignnone” width=“825”] A still from Watchmen (2009)[/caption] It will be set in an alternate history where “superheroes” are treated as outlaws. HBO said the series will “embrace the nostalgia of the original groundbreaking graphic novel while attempting to break new ground of its own.” The series, however, will not be a straight adaption of Alan Moore’s graphic novel, previously adapted into the 2009 film by Zack Snyder. In the movie, a group of retired American superheroes investigate the murder of one of their own before uncovering an elaborate and deadly conspiracy, while their moral limitations are challenged by the complex nature of the circumstances. It starred Jeffrey Dean Morgan, Malin Akerman, Billy Crudup, Matthew Goode, Carla Gugino, Jackie Earle Haley and Patrick Wilson. “We have no desire to ‘adapt’ the twelve issues Mr. Moore and Mr. Gibbons created thirty years ago,” Lindelof said. “Those issues are sacred ground and they will not be retread nor recreated nor reproduced nor rebooted. They will, however, be remixed.” Lindelof will write and executive produce, with Nicole Kassell directing the pilot and executive producing. Stephen Williams will also direct and executive produce, with Joseph Iberti and Tom Spezialy also executive producing.. (With inputs from agencies)