Updated 10/2/2015 by Ryan Waniata: Screencrush has reported today that HBO has indeed confirmed it is in preliminary talks about the potential series with Snyder.
While details are entirely fuzzy in the nascent project, Collider and Complex surmise that the TV series may be based on the 2012 DC Comics prequel series Before Watchmen. Alternatively the series could take the form of a re-imagining of the comic’s plot line, or even a sequel.
Originally written by Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons, Watchmen is set in a dystopian version of the U.S. in the 1980s in which a disbanded group of former superheroes are either in retirement, in hiding, or working for the government. In this alternate universe, these superheroes helped the U.S. win the Vietnam War in the ‘70s — before being outlawed. It was published in 12 issues, creating an intricately woven tale of superheroes living in a realistic world and dealing with life’s moral struggles.
The most recent iteration of the Watchmen comics, Before Watchmen, focuses on the backstories of eight characters including Silk Spectre, Comedian Nite Owl, Ozymandias, Rorschach, and Dr. Manhattan.
Snyder’s film adaptation of the original comic series was critically well-received but didn’t receive creator Moore’s approval. “There are things that we did with Watchmen that could only work in a comic, and were indeed designed to show off things that other media can’t,” he explained to Entertainment Weekly back in 2008.
While Moore likely wouldn’t endorse a possible TV reimagining either, Collider notes that the story’s long and windy format may work better on the small screen. While Snyder works out the details of this potential series, he’s also finishing up Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice. That highly-anticipated film, starring Henry Cavill as Superman and Ben Affleck as Batman, will debut in theaters on March 25, 2016.
