HBO released their first trailer for their upcoming live-action television series Watchmen, which will reportedly be a sequel to Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons’ iconic comic book series.
Take a look.
The trailer showcases what looks to be some kind of underground army that appears to be drawing inspiration from Rorschach. In the opening moments of the trailer one of these masked individuals states, “We are no one. We are everyone. And we are invisible.”
The trailer hints at some drama and some high action. At one point a man appears to trigger an explosive device.
However, its hard to really glean anything about what the show will actually be about except that it looks like the end of the world will be a major theme. The entire trailer also appears to be referencing the infamous doomsday clock as a constant ticking is heard throughout the trailer. In fact, at the end of the trailer a man even says, “Ticktock, ticktock, tick…”
Watchmen showrunner Damon Lindelof was open about his vision for the show with fans. He penned a five-page letter to fans detailing that the show would not be a retread or reboot of Alan Moore and Gibbons’ Watchmen series. In fact, he describes the 12 issues as “our Old Testament.” He would elaborate:
“When the New Testament came along, it did not erase what came before it. Creation. The Garden of Eden. Abraham and Isaac. The Flood. It all happened. And so it will be with Watchmen. The Comedian died. Dan and Laurie fell in love. Ozymandias saved the world and Dr. Manhattan left it just after blowing Rorschach to pieces in the bitter cold of Antarctica.
To be clear. Watchmen is canon.”
However, he also explained it wasn’t a direct sequel and that his new series has “to vibrate with the seismic unpredictability of tectonic plates. It must ask new questions and explore the world through a fresh lens. Most importantly, it must be contemporary.”
He indicated his series “needs to resonate with the frequency of Trump and May and Putin and the horse that he rides around on, shirtless.”
Lindelof elaborated:
“The End of The World is off the table which means the heroes and villains — as if the two are distinguishable — are playing for different stakes entirely. The tone will be fresh and nasty and electric and absurd.”
He does indicate that there will be some familiar faces and it’s quite obvious there are quite a bit of new characters.
“Some of the characters will be unknown. New faces. New masks to cover them. We also intend to revist the past century of Costumed Adventuring through a surprising, yet familiar set of eyes… and it is here where we’ll be taking our greatest risks. Risk is imperative. I need the feeling in my stomach before I leap from a great height without knowing the depth of the water below. If my body should shatter upon impact, at least it was in pursuit of glory.”
What do you think about this new trailer? Do you plan on checking out Watchmen?