'Watchmen' News: HBO's TV Adaptation Will Not Be True to Its Source
HBO is currently working on a TV adaptation of "Watchmen" to be helmed by "Lost" and "The Leftovers" creator Damon Lindelof. However, the cable network has already made it clear that the series will not be a direct adaptation of Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons' influential comic book series.
In an interview with IGN, HBO programming president Casey Bloys revealed that their version will stray from its source material. Bloys said that the reason for this decision is the lack of creative material available from the comics.
The problem with a straight adaptation is that it is a closed story. The source only has enough material to serve as inspiration for one TV season which is obviously not enough.
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This posed a question for the network; according to Bloys, "How do you take the material and derive from it a TV show, without making it a literal translation?" To this, the only solution seems to be to create material for the show that wasn't in the "Watchmen" graphic novels.
Bloys believes that Lindelof can pull it off. "Damon is one of the smartest, most passionate, most thorough writers I've ever worked with," he said, continuing that he doesn't want to give any details but it's amazing how Lindelof's mind works.
Stretching out the source material to incorporate multiple seasons isn't something new for HBO. They have been doing it with "Game of Thrones" with showrunners David Benioff and D.B. Weiss and so far, have been successful with it.
Lindelof has yet to speak with HBO regarding the adaptation but Bloys' words seem to suggest that the 44-year-old screenwriter and producer is invested in the show.
However, the idea that the series will feature content that isn't in the original comic seems to be putting Lindelof on the edge.
"I hold the source material in such high regard, it would literally be the worst feeling in the world to screw it up, all I can say is I'm thinking about "Watchmen" a lot right now," he told TVLine.
