Producer Damon Lindelof Talks Adapting Batman: Dark Knight Returns While Questioning If He Will Do a Second Season of Watchmen
Watchmen producer Damon Lindelof talked about whether or not he will return for a second season of Watchmen as well as another groundbreaking graphic novel from the 80s – Frank Miller’s Dark Knight Returns – in new interviews (spoiler warning from here).
Watchmen on HBO wrapped its first season and Lindelof discussed with Rolling Stone whether there’d be another one. It seems like a no-brainer after the bizarre finale ended on a cliffhanger, but he admits he isn’t interested or sure how he’d get it to work.
Related: Watchmen Showrunner Reveals Major Changes to Story in Open Letter to Fans
In the finale, Angela Abar (Regina King), a police officer who goes by the codename Sister Knight, eats a raw egg that supposedly gives her the power of Dr. Manhattan (Yahya Abdul-Mateen). To test if the result is genuine, she takes a step over a pool before the screen cuts to black.
Lindelof says he has two scenarios in mind for how that might work out. One involves disappointment, no powers, and salmonella, possibly:
“Outcome number one is that she just sinks to the bottom of it and just misunderstood everything that Cal told her and ate a raw egg and should probably go be treated for salmonella.”
The other is what every viewer is probably pulling for; Abar inherits godlike power which Lindelof strongly hints was the tentative plan:
“Outcome number two is that she starts to walk on water and realize that she is imbued with godlike powers. That would certainly explain the promotional poster for Watchmen that we put out there 15 weeks ago; she’s certainly looking a bit blue there. Let’s just say either of those possibilities exist.
Related: HBO’s Watchmen Rotten Tomatoes and Metacritic Audience Scores Dwell In The Dumpster
But he expressed disinterest in both outcomes:
“I think neither one of those stories are going to particularly make for a compelling season of television. Others may disagree. But that’s my feeling.”
Lindelof revealed his disinterest in exploring anything further in the Watchmen mythos currently. Yet he would like to see more of it fleshed out anyway, as long as somebody else does it.
“I do have a desire for there to be more Watchmen. Maybe these nine episodes have demonstrated that the playing field is a little bit larger than previously thought.”
He continued:
“It may inspire someone else to tell a Watchmen story. But right now, I don’t have any more ideas. Whether you call something a limited series or an ongoing series, that’s fodder for awards consideration. I’m not comfortable calling this anything other than nine complete episodes with a beginning, a middle, and an end. There is no promise of a continuation.”
Watchmen hasn’t been renewed by HBO so far which could come as a shock after episode nine got people talking Sunday night. Lube Man was one of the top trending topics on Twitter once the show aired. Maybe he has a spinoff coming.
#WatchmenHBO lube man stand-alone series. Do it cowards pic.twitter.com/KxHK6pNOMm
— Aids 🤒 (@aidan_mcguire15) December 16, 2019
Related: Frank Miller to Reinvent Jonathan Kent in New Dark Knight Returns Story for DC Comics
The Dark Knight Returns (Again)
If Watchmen doesn’t excite him anymore, Lindelof shared he might be up for adapting Frank Miller’s The Dark Knight Returns. He told Collider what he would like to do, though an ex-Batman actor, ideally, has to come back.
Lindelof explained:
“I think it would be really interesting to wait for somebody like, you know, Michael Keaton, who has already done Batman, or a Christian Bale 25 years from now and then do Dark Knight with them. So, it’s someone who we actually saw play a younger version of Batman. That would be rad.”
Lindelof admitted he is afraid of screwing up a DKR adaptation. It was adapted once already for two-part, back-to-back animated features. Elements of it – from armoring up to fight Superman to rescuing Martha Kent from a warehouse full of thugs – made it into Batman v. Superman.
Michael Keaton is primed for such a return right now but another alternate Bruce Wayne is rumored for his future. Kevin Smith showed his enthusiasm for Keaton portraying the elder mentor to Terry McGinnis in a live-action Batman Beyond. Warner Bros. might even be scouting the 68-year-old for such a project with contained standalone adventures being all the rage after Joker’s smash success.
Would you like to see Lindelof give us more Watchmen and/or a live-action DKR? Let us know.
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