Watchmen New York Comic Con Promo Trolls Fans About Jeremy Irons’ Role

Ever since Jeremy Irons was announced as joining the Watchmen TV series, theories ignited about who the actor could play, with Ozymandias becoming the frontrunner, which a recent ad about the upcoming New York Comic Con panel pokes fun at. The promo image that confirms the cast and crew who will be in attendance at the event lists everyone’s role in the project, with Jeremy Irons being described as “Probably Who You Think He Is.” Irons’ role is one of the worst-kept secrets of the series, as HBO has yet to officially confirm the news, while this promo all but confirms our suspicions.

One reason fans have been unsure of Irons’ role is that, rather than being a direct adaptation of the source material from Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons, or being a sequel to that narrative, the show’s creators have described it more as taking place in the world of the graphic novel without necessarily connecting to that storyline directly.

It was this approach to the series that assuaged Gibbons’ trepidations about the project.

“I do know a little about it,” Gibbons shared late last year. “I’ve had conversations with [executive producer] Damon [Lindelof], and I’ve read the screenplay for the pilot. I don’t think it’s my place to say too much about it, other than I found Damon’s approach to be really refreshing and exciting and unexpected. I don’t think it’s gonna be what people think it’s going to be. It certainly wasn’t what I imagined it to be. I think it’s extremely fresh. I’m really looking forward to seeing it on the screen.”

While one might think the creators take issue with their work being adapted into another medium, Gibbons noted that he wasn’t a fan of the comic book prequel and sequel series that have been developed, with the medium seemingly being irrelevant to his opinion.

“I’ve been resistant to the comic book prequels and sequels, but what Damon’s doing is not that at all, it’s very far away from that,” Gibbons admitted. “While it’s very reverential and true to the source material (by which I mean the Watchmen graphic novel that Alan and I did), it’s not retreading the same ground, it’s not a reinterpretation of it. It approaches it in a completely unexpected way.”

Watchmen will premiere on HBO on Sunday, October 20th.

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