Deadline is reporting that HBO comic drama pilot Watchmen has added Dylan Schombing (Girlfriends’ Guide to Divorce), newcomer Adelynn Spoon, and The Vampire Diaries alum Lily Rose Smith. No details on their roles have been made available at this time.
Based on the DC Comics series written by Alan Moore, with The Leftovers duo Tom Perrotta and Damon Lindelof adapting for television, Watchmen is said to be a dark, satirical take on the superhero genre. To be set in an alternate future that frames the heroes as “outlaws,” this latest adaptation of a source material that’s already borne a polarizing 2009 film will attempt to break new ground on its own while embracing the nostalgia of its material.
If Watchmen goes to series, it will only be HBO’s second attempt at the comic genre, with the other being well-received animated series Todd McFarlane’s Spawn. Based on the Image Comics character (who was voiced by Keith David), that series lasted three seasons and won an Emmy in 1999.
A series order would come as HBO looks to beef up its scripted slate in the wake of the recent AT&T/Time Warner merger. The premium cable giant recently gave a series order to a Time Traveler’s Wife adaptation from Steven Moffat and Euphoria, a teen drama produced by Drake that stars Zendaya, with a third season renewal for Sarah Jessica Parker dramedy Divorce still a possibility. Just this year HBO has renewed Crashing, High Maintenance, Westworld, Silicon Valley, Barry, Succession, and Wyatt Cenac’s Problem Areas.
Schombing, Spoon, and Smith join a cast that includes Tom Mison (Sleepy Hollow), Regina King (American Crime), Don Johnson (Blood & Oil), Frances Fisher (Resurrection), Adelaide Clemens (Rectify), and Andrew Howard (Limitless).
