Watch out for the Watchmen
HBO has announced the first cast members of the new HBO original drama series, Watchmen ,an adaptation of Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons’ seminal, ground-breaking graphic novel of the same name.
First released in 1986, Watchmen is considered one of the greatest comic books ever published, and is credited as one of the works that helped comics gain literary acclaim and recognition.
Set in an alternate history where superheroes helped the United States win the Vietnam War, but are now considered outlaws, the graphic novel had already inspired a film adaptation by director Zack Snyder in 2009.
A press statement by HBO states that the Watchmen TV series “embraces the nostalgia of the original groundbreaking graphic novel and attempts to break new ground of its own”.
Among the cast members announced for the series is Don Johnson, the award-winning actor probably best known as Detective Sonny Crockett on the iconic 1980s TV series, Miami Vice.
Other stars attached to the series include Regina King (Jerry Maguire, The Leftovers), Tim Blake Nelson (Billy Lynn’s Long Halftime Walk, Lincoln), Louis Gossett Jr. (An Officer And A Gentleman, Boardwalk Empire), Adelaide Clemens (The Great Gatsby, Parade’s End) and Andrew Howard (The Brave, Taken 3).
Details of what characters they will be playing have yet to be revealed.
HBO’s Watchmen is scheduled to premiere next year. – Michael Cheang