Watchmen HBO series creator Damon Lindelof is doing things his own way. Despite the source material’s author Alan Moore explicitly protesting any adaptation of his seminal ‘80s-set comic book series, Lindelof is pressing ahead – but not without feeling slightly reluctant.
“I don’t think that I’ve made peace with it,” Lindelof tells our sister publication Total Film. “That’s the way that he would want it, too. It’s an ongoing wrestling match. Alan Moore is a genius in my opinion; the greatest writer in the comic medium and maybe one of the greatest writers of all time. He’s made it very clear that he doesn’t want to have any association or affiliation with Watchmen ongoing. And that we not use his name to get people to watch it, which I want to respect... the wrestling match will continue.”
So, what is Lindelof’s ultimate response? “I do feel like the spirit of Alan Moore is a punk rock spirit,” he explains. “And so, I’m channelling the spirit of Alan Moore to tell Alan Moore, ‘Fuck you, I’m doing it anyway.’”
Lindelof’s adaptation of Watchmen will treat the original comic series as canon, with the new adaptation acting as a quasi-sequel to Moore’s work. The showrunner, along with actress Regina King, discusses the show further in the latest issue of Total Film, on shelves this Friday, September 19. Watchmen, meanwhile, reaches TV screens October 20.
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