'Watchmen' HBO TV Series Air Date, News: Damon Lindelof Says Not to Trust Superheroes
An adaption of Alan Moore's 1980s graphic novel "Watchmen" is coming to HBO. "Lost" and "The Leftovers" showrunner Damon Lindelof is currently developing the series. He believes its story remains timely even today.
Lindelof told a press panel at the Vulture Fest in Los Angeles that "Watchmen" is a badly needed story in the current entertainment landscape. While there's a wealth of superhero shows on TV and in the movies today, Lindelof thinks people actually have wrong notions about these powerful characters.
"We should not trust people who put on masks and say that they are looking out for us," the showrunner said. "If you hide your face, you are up to no good."
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Lindelof, 44, came across "Watchmen" at age 12. He admitted that the source material was quite mature for him then. The complex nature of the superheroes on the graphic novel, however, made him fall in love with the genre even more.
In Moore's creation, masked beings with super powers were deeply flawed, imperfect and corruptible. The author successfully deconstructed superheroes to show a world so bleak that it became hard to adapt on screen.
In 2009, "Justice League" director Zack Snyder adapted "Watchmen" on the big screen that starred Malin Akerman, Billy Crudup, Jeffrey Dean Morgan and Patrick Wilson. The movie failed to impress critics and audience alike. It turned out that, among the film's other mistakes, bringing an unconventional superhero story became a big risk.
Lindelof, however, believes there has never been a right time to bring "Watchmen" to the screen except today. He also knows there's a lot riding on this adaptation especially since Moore's work is treated as sacred material by fans.
"The reason that I'm doing this is these are dangerous times, and we need dangerous shows," the Emmy-winning scribe said.
HBO confirmed "Watchmen" began pre-production in September. Casting announcements and other details won't likely come out until early 2018.
