HBO casts Regina King, Don Johnson, and more for Watchmen series

DC Comics’ Watchmen is coming to the small screen, and six cast members have been announced to star in the new TV series on HBO. Regina King from HBO’s The Leftovers will take the lead role, most likely as Angela Abraham, an “independent and intelligent [cop who’s] also a realist.”

Variety also reports that Don Johnson, Louis Gossett Jr., Adelaide Clemens, Andrew Howard, and Tim Blake Nelson will join King for the Watchmen cast. The details of the show’s characters have not been disclosed yet. Damon Lindelof, who also co-created The Leftovers, will head the show inspired by the 1986 comic series.

Lindelof’s ‘Watchmen’ Not an adaptation

In a five-page statement on his Instagram, Lindelof confirmed they wouldn’t be adapting the 12-issue comic book story. He made things clear and wrote, “Watchmen is canon.”

He went on about much he idolized and respected the Watchmen creators, Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons, and added that “Those issues are sacred ground and they will not be retreaded nor recreated nor reproduced nor rebooted.” He did, however, say they will be remixed. Lindelof will not re-tell the story, unlike what the film adaptations did. Instead, Lindelof will be sharing his version and his vision of the classic story, as he has been reiterating in his Instagram post.

Places and faces

Lindelof also said in the statement that they would not be making a sequel. “This story will be set in the world its creators painstakingly built,” he wrote. The series will take place in the present, taking inspiration from what the creators. With the help of some superheroes, the United States won the Vietnam War.

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A particular name mentioned is Jon Osterman aka Dr. Manhattan, with his god-like powers helped the country. Although the six cast members have been announced, their characters are kept under wraps. Other than the six, there will be more characters to unfold.