In his second major television role ever, veteran actor Jeremy Irons has signed onto Damon Lindelof’s not-quite-adaptation of Watchmen, according to Deadline.
Lindelof’s HBO pilot is based on Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons’ limited comic series of the same name. Lindelof recently made it clear that the series, if picked up, will not be a direct adaptation of the comic series. In an open letter he posted on Instagram, Lindelof said that the original comics are “sacred ground and they will not be retread nor recreated nor reproduced nor rebooted,” instead stating that the 12 issues of the comic will be “remixed” into a new narrative. Read his full letter to fans here.
Actors Regina King, Don Johnson, Tim Blake Nelson, Louis Gossett Jr, Adelaide Clemens and Andrew Howard have already been cast in the project. Little is known about their roles—or Irons’, for that matter—since Lindelof is introducing new characters to the Watchmen-sphere and is keeping information under wraps.
The series is set in an alternate universe, in which superheroes emerged in the 1940s through the 1960s and changed the course of U.S. history. Now, with the country on the verge of a new World War, masked vigilantes (or “masks”) are either outlawed or employed by the government.
Irons last acted on the small screen in Showtime’s The Borgias in 2013. The Oscar-winner most recently appeared in Red Sparrow opposite Jennifer Lawrence.
Check back for further updates on Watchmen.