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'Watchmen' TV Series From Damon Lindelof in the Works at HBO [update: pilot ordered]

R

Ross61

Member
DC Comics favorite Watchmen may be headed for the small screen.

Fresh off of critical favorite The Leftovers, Damon Lindelof is in talks for a potential Watchmen TV series for HBO. Sources tell The Hollywood Reporter that the project is in the early development stages. An official deal is not yet in place. Representatives for HBO and producers Warner Bros. Television declined comment.

Lindelof originally read the comics as a kid in the 1980s and has said that the series continues to influence his work. "From the flashbacks to the nonlinear storytelling to the deeply flawed heroes, these are all elements that I try to put into everything I write," he told CBR in 2009 ahead of the feature film take. He's read Watchmen multiple times and, at the time, praised director Zack Snyder's film. "It's the most married-to-the-original-text version of Watchmen that could've been made," he told the Observer. "I want to keep it sort of insular," he said, referring to the multiple translations that have come from trying to translate the source material. "It's OK with me if people don't understand it because they don't deserve to understand it."

Snyder, who directed the 2009 feature film adaptation of Alan Moore's beloved comic series, is no longer attached to the drama from Warner Bros. Television, where both DC Entertainment and Lindelof are housed.

First published in 1986 and collected in 1987, Watchmen was created by Moore, artist Dave Gibbons and colorist John Higgins. The series is included as one of the 100 best novels from Time magazine. Rumors of HBO tackling Watchmen first surfaced in 2015 when the cabler noted it was in preliminary discussions for a TV take on the property.

Snyder, who was briefly attached to the HBO project in 2015, adapted the comic and brought the title's "Minutemen" crime fighters to the big screen in 2009 with Jackie Earle Haley, Malin Akerman, Billy Crudup, Matthew Goode, Carla Gugino, Jeffrey Dean Morgan and Patrick Wilson starring. The film, produced by Warner Bros. Pictures with a $130 million production budget, grossed a disappointing $107.5 million domestically and $185.3 million worldwide.

A Watchmen TV series would further expand the premium cable network's place in the comic book business and offer a potential heir apparent to fantasy drama Game of Thrones, which has 15 total episodes over two seasons remaining. AMC has found success with The Walking Dead and Preacher, while FX has Noah Hawley's X-Men take Legion, which is already renewed for a second season. The comic book expansion has gone far beyond broadcast after ABC, The CW and Fox found success with DC and Marvel fare including Agents of SHIELD, The Flash, Arrow, Supergirl, Legends of Tomorrow and Gotham, among others. Hulu recently picked up Marvel's The Runaways, Freeform has New Warriors and ABC next has The Inhumans as well as another season of Agents of SHIELD as Marvel continues to have multiple series in the works at Netflix.

For Lindelof, Watchmen would arrive after The Leftovers, based on the book of the same name, recently wrapped its three-season run on HBO. The Lost alum is repped by CAA and Myman Greenspan.

Moore, meanwhile, announced his retirement from comic books in September, noting that "I think I have done enough for comics. I've done all that I can." On the big screen, Moore's work has been adapted into features From Hell, The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, V for Vendetta andBatman: The Killing Joke. On the TV side, Fox tried in 2013 to adapt Gentlemen for the small screen. The drama did not move beyond the development stage.
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Source
 
H

HStallion

Now what's the next step in your master plan?
Ugh the people in charge don't necessarily instill much faith, the exact opposite really.
 
M

Makonero

Member
He's read Watchmen multiple times and, at the time, praised director Zack Snyder's film. "It's the most married-to-the-original-text version of Watchmen that could've been made," he told the Observer. "I want to keep it sort of insular," he said, referring to the multiple translations that have come from trying to translate the source material. "It's OK with me if people don't understand it because they don't deserve to understand it."
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No. Just hell no. The boring lifeless Snyder version? You want to make it more insular? Fuck this.
 
S

StrangeRoboMemory

Member
Lindelof, huh?

giphy.gif
 
H

HStallion

Now what's the next step in your master plan?
Well knowing HBO we should get a graphic and elongated sex scene with Silk Spectre and like 3 Dr. Manhattans.
 
R

Random Human

They were trying to grab your prize. They work for the mercenary. The masked man.
People are gonna post lots of Lindelof hate due to his film work, but TV is a good place for him. This could be great.
 
S

Savitar

Member
I'm more angry at seeing Lindelof being associated with anything worthwhile.

He should not be allowed to work in Hollywood......or anything to do with screens.
 
D

DarkLordMalik

Member
Revolutionary said:
The first season, yeah. It was some of the most boring television I've ever seen.
His rewrites also were also the primary reason Prometheus turned out to be laughably bad.
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Did he also work on Alien Covenant? Because Promoetheus was a better movie than Covenant so maybe it was just Ridley Scott who was at fault here?
 
S

Salsa

Member
Chumley said:
People who slept on The Leftovers showing their ass rn
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I watched The Leftovers and I liked it enough I still think for Watchmen he's a terrible choice I still think this doesnt need to happen at all

idk what it has to do with it. The Leftover's "flaws" were the same Lost had, the same even freakin Prometheus has

Lindelof gonna Lindelof
 
C

Chumley

Banned
Salsa said:
I watched The Leftovers and I liked it enough I still think for Watchmen he's a terrible choice I still think this doesnt need to happen at all

idk what it has to do with it. The Leftover's "flaws" were the same Lost had, the same even freakin Prometheus has

Lindelof gonna Lindelof
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The Leftovers S2 and S3 were basically perfect so I don't even know what you're talking about.

Puck Beaverton said:
people missing out on our Queen Carrie Coon.

Shame, but expected.
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The GOAT.
 
S

Salsa

Member
Chumley said:
The Leftovers S2 and S3 were basically perfect so I don't even know what you're talking about.
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well sure if that's your opinion then there's not much to go on

I just don't see how The Leftovers "redeemed him" or what's so different from his other work. It's a Lindelof-ass series, as much as it could be.

Again; I really enjoyed The Leftovers for the most part
 
S

Salsa

Member
I guess i'll say this: Im interested in seeing how Lindelof handles almost everyone knowing where this goes and how it ends, and how he works when he's not tricking you into having viewers by the balls with "OMG WTF I NEED EM ANSWERS THIS SO LEFT FIELD"

that's gonna be interesting
 
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