Watchmen gets HBO series order, teaser graphic revealed

James Hibberd

It’s finally official: Watchmen will be HBO’s first-ever superhero series.

The project has received a series order from the network (until now, despite plenty of coverage, the show was still in the pilot stage).

HBO is also revealing that the series will premiere next year, which is a bit of a surprise (we don’t even know if Westworld will be back next year and that’s an ongoing show). So 2019 is looking like a strong year for the network: The return of Game of Thrones for its final season, the return of True Detective for its long-awaited third season, the return of Veep after its extended hiatus, and now the debut of Watchmen.

The details on Watchmen — from The Leftovers showrunner Damon Lindelof — remain skimpy (The logline: “Set in an alternate history where “superheroes” are treated as outlaws, Watchmen embraces the nostalgia of the original groundbreaking graphic novel while attempting to break new ground of its own.”)

And the cast is star-filled and sprawling: Regina King, Jeremy Irons, Don Johnson, Tim Blake Nelson, Louis Gossett Jr., Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, Adelaide Clemens, Andrew Howard, Tom Mison, Frances Fisher, Jacob Ming-Trent, Sara Vickers, Dylan Schombing, Lily Rose Smith and Adelynn Spoon (whew!).

HBO also revealed a teaser graphic:

The tagline refers to an oft-quoted line of dialogue from Alan Moore’s comic book, from when Ozymandias asks Dr. Manhattan if he did the right thing, if it all worked out in the end.

Dr. Manhattan says: “In the end? Nothing ends, Adrian. Nothing ever ends.”