Yes, Damon Lindelof and HBO are teaming to bring a TV series about Alan Moore’s Watchmen to life, but that doesn’t mean they’re trying to re-hash the story that’s already been told.
Moore has been clear in the past about not wanting Watchmen to be adapted into other mediums. Still, DC published a prequel comic series and Zack Snyder directed a live action movie. In a letter to fans, Lindelof explained that his version wouldn’t be like this, because he’s such a big believer in Moore and the subject matter as well.
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Because of this love for the material, Lindelof says that he won’t be adapting the story at all. Instead, he and his team will be “remixing” it.
“We have no desire to ‘adapt’ the twelve issues Mr. Moore and Mr. Gibbons created thirty years ago,” Lindelof wrote. “Those issues are sacred ground and they will not be retread nor recreated nor reproduced nor rebooted.
“They will, however, be remixed. Because the bass lines in those familiar tracks are just too good and we’d be fools not to sample them. Those original twelve issues are our Old Testament. When the New Testament came along it did not erase what came before it. Creation. The Garden of Eden. Abraham and Isaac. The Flood. It all happened. And so it will be with Watchmen. The Comedian died. Dan and Laurie fell in love. Ozymandias saved the world and Dr. Manhattan left it just after blowing Rorschach to pieces in the bitter cold of Antarctica.”
Throughout the five page letter, Lindelof also explains that his take on the property will be more contemporary, and involve new characters set within the framework of Moore’s creation.
Lindelof and his writers are currently working on bringing the pilot of the series to life, and no casting decisions have been announced at this time.
Do you think that Lindelof will do Watchmen justice? Or is this just a big mistake waiting to happen? Let us know in the comments!
