HBO has released a new trailer forWatchmen,Damon Lindelof’s adaptation of the groundbreaking comic book series by writerAlan Mooreand artistDave Gibbons. There’s alotto dig into over these juicy three minutes, so cue upDavid Bowie’s “Life on Mars?” and let’s get into it.
First things first, it’s genuinely impossible to parse out what Lindelof and Co. are going for here story-wise, as this trailer does a fantastic job showing you atonwhile revealing the meaning behindvery little. Clearly, a cult-y organization of some kind has sprouted up that follows the hardline code of the masked vigilante Rorschach, even going as far as to summarize his famous diary quote: “Soon they will shout, ‘Save us!’ And we will whisper, ‘No.'”
The trailer also reveals that the all-powerful Doctor Manhattan is living on Mars—although that definitely appears to be his blue hand at the end—which would set the action somewhere in the middle of the comic series. Complicating that a bit is the fact thatnothingelse looks similar to the events of the comic series. Most of it actually looks like it takes place in the aftermath of the plan enacted by Adrian Veidt—played here byJeremy Irons—to stage a violent alien invasion to bring together every country on Earth. (Peep that newspaper headline that reads “Veidt Officially Declared Dead”.)
Probably the biggest revelation is the fact thatJean Smartis playing “Laurie Blake”, a name that could be a coincidence, or it could suggest she’s playing an older version of Silk Spectre who has taken the name of her father, Edward Blake, a.k.a. The Comedian. That would be…quite the thing. I’m still not quite sure what the deal is withRegina King’s vigilante character, but it definitely looks like the plot pretty much revolves around her.
Check out the trailer below.Watchmenpremieres on HBO in October 2019.
Here is the official synopsis forWatchmen:
From Damon Lindelof and set in an alternate history where masked vigilantes are treated as outlaws, this drama series embraces the nostalgia of the original groundbreaking graphic novel of the same name while attempting to break new ground of its own. The cast includes Regina King, Jeremy Irons, Don Johnson, Jean Smart, Tim Blake Nelson, Louis Gossett Jr., Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, Hong Chau, Andrew Howard, Tom Mison, Frances Fisher, Jacob Ming-Trent, Sara Vickers, Dylan Schombing, and James Wolk. Watchmen is based on the graphic novel co-created and illustrated by Dave Gibbons and published by DC.
