After several acclaimed filmmakers failed to get Watchmen running, it was Zack Snyder who got the opportunity to adapt Alan Moore’s iconic comic for the big screen. However, despite playing it too safe and sticking to the comic book as closely as possible, the film failed among fans and critics, following the contrast in Snyder’s visual style and the material. And nearly a decade after the critical failure, Damon Lindelof, responsible for The Leftovers, took Moore’s acclaimed work under his wing
Unlike Snyder, Lindelof took the risky decision to use Alan Moore’s iconic run as a launchpad to do his own thing, set 34 years after the events of the comic, which against all odds, paid off for him. But the HBO executives at the top weren’t too jovial about some of Lindelof’s decisions, especially the audacious retcon of Hooded Justice’s character.
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HBO Wasn’t Too Keen on Damon Lindelof’s Decision to Retcon Hooded Justice’s Origin
While in most cases, deviating away from the source material isn’t often received well among fans, fortunately, this wasn’t the case for Hooded Justice in HBO’s acclaimed Watchmen series. Unlike the comic, where it’s implied that the ruthless vigilante is a disturbed white man obsessed with justice, the HBO Show reveals that he was a black man, Will Reeves (imposing as a white man). However, the higher-ups at HBO weren’t too keen on moving forward with this retcon, which could’ve landed them in serious hot water if done wrong, but Lindelof didn’t budge. Per /Films, he said,
“I was challenged constantly. And I think that, truth be told, it was all white people like me at HBO, and what they were saying instead of, ‘I don’t think you should do this,’ was, ‘Are you sure you want to do this?’ And my answer to them was always, ‘I am sure that I want to do it, but I don’t know if it’s going to work.’ And I do understand that if it doesn’t work, what the risks are … as long as we’re able to present the story in a way that isn’t exploitative and purposely harmful.”
Despite some mild controversies, Reeves’ story of retaliating after a lifetime of injustice felt true to Watchmen‘s theme, and This Extraordinary Being was deemed one of the best episodes of the show.
Damon Lindelof Has No Plans of Returning for More Watchmen
Even though Watchmen season 1 was a big success unlike its movie counterpart, Damon Lindelof has no plans to return for a second season, as he believes he has nothing more to do with the story. However, the Lost creator explained that “the story could potentially go in new and exciting places”, but he isn’t going to helm its wheel moving forward. Damon Lindelof told Esquire:
“But it was really important that it retain the character of the original Watchmen, which was that it had a beginning, middle and end, and so while I think the story could potentially go in new and exciting places, I don’t think that I should be working on any more Watchmen, because this is a car that you should get to drive, but it doesn’t belong to you.”
With Damon Lindelof not interested in returning for any more Watchmen, the possibility of a second season seems unlikely as of now.
Watchmen is available to stream on Max.
