As filmmaker Zack Snyder continues to lay the foundation for Warner Bros’. interconnected movie universe based on DC Comics, the Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice director is also considering revisiting another superhero project, this time on the small screen.
Snyder and HBO have had preliminary discussions about developing a TV series based on Alan Moore’s landmark comic Watchmen, though no deal is in place, EW has confirmed. Collider first reported the news.
Snyder previously adapted the limited series — which weaves together superhero nostalgia, Cold War paranoia, and ironic self-awareness — into a film in 2009. A dark, sprawling, visually striking adaptation, Snyder’s Watchmen movie garnered mixed reviews and underperformed at the box office.
Moore’s original work, however, remains a touchstone for comics conniosseurs, and in recent years superhero-based film and TV franchises have exploded in popularity.
First published in 1986, Watchmen is set in an alternate United States where costumed vigilantes exist (though most don’t have superpowers) and are being killed off and discredited as part of a complex conspiracy.
It’s unclear how Snyder and HBO’s potential Watchmen project would approach the source material. In addition to the original series, DC published the prequel series Before Watchmen, made without Moore’s involvement, in 2012.
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