Earlier this year, we got a really confusing teaser for a new HBO show based on Alan Moore’s critically acclaimed comic Watchmen. What it was about was entirely unclear, so all we could do was wait until there was some form of clarification. At SDCC, HBO provided just that in the form of a full trailer:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1yKq1PRvPJQ
We even got a synopsis to go with it, which doesn’t clear up as much as we’d hope:
Watchmen takes place in an alternative, contemporary reality in the United States, in which masked vigilantes became outlawed due to their violent methods. Despite this, some gather around in order to start a revolution while others are out to stop it before it is too late, as a greater question rises above them all; who watches the Watchmen?
The show takes place after the events of the original comic, with a group of people dressing up like Rorschach, threatening violence. Meanwhile there are new vigilantes coming up in response, a fictional superhero show, and the return of Doctor Manhattan from being on Mars. And in case you’re worried about it secretly being a reboot, show creator Damon Lindelof has been clear on that point.
“We have no desire to ‘adapt’ the twelve issues Mr. Moore and Mr. Gibbons created thirty years ago,” Lindelof wrote on Instagram when the show was in early production. “Those issues are sacred ground and they will not be retread nor recreated nor reproduced nor rebooted.”
However, Alan Moore is not pleased with all the adaptations of his work. He just announced this week that he was quitting, or rather retiring, after this upcoming edition of League of Extraordinary Gentlemen. Whether this condemnation will make fans want to watch the show more or less is still anyone’s guess.
Watchmen will premiere on HBO in October 2019.
