Zack Snyder, the director known for such films asย 300ย andย Man of Steel,ย and who is currently finishingย Batman vs. Superman: Dawn of Justice, is speakingย with HBO about bringing a TV show based onย Watchmen to the network. Snyder also directed the film version ofย Watchmen in 2009. Few details are known at this point about the project, but sources for Collider have confirmed both parties’ interest.
It is unknown if this series would be based on the originalย Watchmen comic (which the film was also based on) from Alan Moore in 1986-1987, theย Before Watchmenย prequel series that began in 2012, or perhaps would even be an entirely original production basedย in that universe.ย Watchmenย takes place in an alternate universe 1980s, where superheroes are commonplace. All of these superheroes are ordinary people in costumes, except for one: Dr. Manhattan. Gaining his powers from a scientific experiment gone awry, Dr. Manhattan uses his godlike abilities to leverage the power of the United States over the Soviet Union, specifically in dominating the Vietnam War. It was a revolutionary comic, exploring a variety of mature themes and helping sculpt the comic industry into being taken more seriously in the literary landscape.

HBO may be looking to get their next big hit lined up. Even though there are many successful shows on HBO, such asย Girls,ย Veep,ย Silicon Valley, andย True Detective, their true draw is the smash hitย Game of Thrones. Although it is still going strong, HBO will most likely want another show for the action-starved audience to get sucked into beforeย Game of Thrones wraps its story in the next few seasons. A series based in theย Watchmen universe would be fundamentally different thanย Game of Thrones, but could scratch a lot of the same itches that the high-concept fantasy series does. Murky loyalties, dark subject matter, occasional wicked sense of humor, some supernatural elements, and of course plenty of violence and sex. If the show does move forward, don’t be surprised to see plenty of “I watch the Watchmen” merchandise. I’ll take my royalties check now, HBO.
Even though this is all in very early stages, do you like the sound of an HBOย Watchmen show? Who would you want to see cast as Nite Owl, Rorschach, Dr.ย Manhattan, and Silkย Spectre? Would you rather see it flesh out theย Before Watchmenย series, or expand on the world of the aged superheroes from the originalย Watchmenย comics? Let us know!