Watchmen is one of the most polarizing movies ever made. Some people love Zack Snyder’s ultra-faithful adaptation of the cult ’80s graphic novel, while others despise it. Now, it looks like there’s going to be another Watchmen adaptation for fans to argue about — but this time, it’s going to be on TV.
Damon Lindelof, a man who knows a thing or two about creating polarizing TV shows, is currently deep in talks with HBO about turning the popular comic into a TV show. Lindelof was the co-creator of both Lost and the recently-concluded The Leftovers, two shows known for drawing either obsessive love or pure hatred depending on whom you ask. Lindelof also co-wrote the films Cowboys & Aliens, Prometheus, Star Trek Into Darkness, and Tomorrowland… so yeah, basically everything this guy does is met by a deeply-divided fanbase.
As for his Watchmen series, fans can look for Lindelof to approach the material in a markedly different way than Snyder did in his 2009 film (Snyder was originally attached to the television series, but is no longer affiliated with it). Lindelof read the series when he was young back in the ’80s, so he’s a lifelong fan of the material; so much so that he credits it with shaping his creative pursuits. Lindelof is also known for leaving things unexplained in his works (Lost, Prometheus, The Leftovers, etc.), and has in the past stated about Watchmen: “It’s OK with me if people don’t understand it because they don’t deserve to understand it.” In other words, we can probably expect a Watchmen series that raises more questions than answers.
The time does seem to be right for a Watchmen TV series. Adult-themed comic book adaptations are currently big business on the small screen, from AMC’s The Walking Dead and Preacher to FX’s Legion and Netflix’s Marvel offerings, and HBO has had a pretty solid run in their prestige drama department over the last several years but are missing a solid superhero series. So a Watchmen HBO show could end up being something pretty special. Or it could be terrible. Above all else, though, I’m expecting it to be divisive.
