Home Entertainment Watchmen’s Damon Lindelof: “There is going to be more”

Watchmen’s Damon Lindelof: “There is going to be more”

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Who watches the Watchmen? Well, if you ask me, it should be everyone! HBO’s TV series sequel to Alan Moore, Dave Gibbons, and John Higgins’ classic comic book masterpiece of the same name is five episodes into its first season (well, six episodes by the time this article goes live) and it’s already established itself as not just one of the best series of 2019, but one of the best comic book adaptations ever. Incredible worldbuilding, super-smart writing, fantastic acting and the best use of lube I’ve ever seen (trust me, you perverts!).

The show is so damn good that the worst thing about it is the fact that there are only three episodes left. Showrunner Damon Lindelof has previously said that the plan was to just make this a single season story, with a finite end. Speaking to LadBible, the veteran writer (who previously gave us Lost and The Leftovers) confirmed that this was the case for this story.

It was designed to be a complete story much in the vein of shows like Fargo or True Detective, with an understanding that there are many Watchmen stories to tell, but there’s not a big cliffhanger in the final episode. I think the majority of the mysteries – at least the ones that are central to the stories that we tell – are resolved by the end of the ninth episode

It’s that “there are many Watchmen stories to tell” phrase that is key here. As Lindelof continues, he explained that while a return to this version of the Watchmen world that he’s created is not on the cards yet, it’s a definite possibility. More than a possibility, in fact, even if it isn’t Lindelof that brings it back.

If the idea is right, and if there is a compelling reason to do it, then I’d consider it. I haven’t had that idea yet. The other thing about Watchmen is that it doesn’t belong to me. Alan Moore, Dave Gibbons and John Higgins created this thing, I had the opportunity to be its steward for a couple of years.

There is going to be more Watchmen, independently of whether I do it. It should be done by someone who really deeply cares about it and has a reason to.

I really like the fact that Watchmen has a clearly defined beginning, middle, and end. Too many shows fall apart because they become a victim of their own success and go on longer than they’re supposed to. However, if HBO and co can give us new stories in this world of the same quality we’ve seen thus far, I would be all for it.

Last Updated: November 25, 2019

32 Comments

  1. Son of Banana Jim

    November 25, 2019 at 11:06

    Once again, I find myself disagreeing with you. This is Watchmen in name only, I’ve stuck with it for about 4 episodes and it’s honestly one of the worst shows HBO has created in recent years. I honestly think Lindelof and his magic box story telling can get in the sea….

    Reply

    • Kervyn Cloete

      November 25, 2019 at 11:41

      You wouldn’t just be disagreeing with me. You would be disagreeing with a massive percentage of the audience. It’s been widely praised by both critics and audience members alike. And I can understand if you want something that is written more akin to Alan Moore (which I think this is, but I’ll grant you that distinction for this exercise), but I simply CANNOT see how you can call it one of the worst shows HBO had created in recent years. Even if its Watchmen in name only, as you claim, the quality level of the acting, directing, production, and even the music alone puts it head and shoulders above so many other things out there right now.

      Reply

      • Kervyn Cloete

        November 25, 2019 at 11:47

        I meant to add, looking at the comments from the show’s detractors, many (not all, but most) don’t actually criticize any of the aspects of the show other than to say that either they don’t like its politics or that they don’t appreciate Lindelof putting cultural politics so front and centre in it. And the latter is absolutely absurd because if there’s one thing Moore always did, it was fill his work with politics. The original Watchmen is stuffed to the brim with it.

        Reply

        • Words of Ivory

          November 25, 2019 at 12:32

          This is an ad hominem. You’re criticising the people making the argument, instead of their actual argument.

          I took a look through many of the fan reviews, and very few of them actually focus on the things you just listed. Most seem to criticise a lack of focus, poorly developed characters that feel like caricatures more than real people, and regular plotholes.

          Even the people who are criticising the politics aren’t criticising them because they’re there. They’re criticising them because they’re written badly and handles poorly.

          Reply

          • Son of Banana Jim

            November 25, 2019 at 12:59

            The politics seem to be shoehorned in, and it’s really frustrating because there are real issues that could have been explored (through an alternate universe United States). I absolutely agree about the lack of focus though. It’s almost as if the writers were given a checklist of topics to discuss and to then create a story from that.

            Lindeloff: Ok guys, guys we need to insert alt-right nazis!
            Writer: Yes, and they’re incels!
            Lindeloff: Oh and a black lead?
            Writers: YES! But she must be female!
            Lindeloff: Ok, what else do we need for 2019…?
            Writers: We need the Klu Klux Klan
            Lindeloff: They haven’t been relevant since the 1950s.. but yes… let’s do it
            Writers: Oh and a real life event to tie everything together
            Lindeloff: Mmmm… *googles*
            Writers: WHat about the characters?
            Lindeloff: Eh.. let’s just make them basic characters, with the bare minimum because our viewers are so used to simplistic tv shows.

            And there are glimpses of greatness with the new characters but none of them feel real. They’re walking stereotypes who are supposed to line up with the story rather than how Alan Moore wrote the book, with fully-realised characters who are multi-dimensional and OH SO DEEPLY FLAWED!

            This TV show is basically 2019 in a nutshell….

          • Kervyn Cloete

            November 25, 2019 at 13:40

            No, maybe we’re looking at different reviews, but a glance at Metacritic’s user score section shows a lot of people just outright dismissing it as “woke” politics with little to no further discourse.

          • Son of Banana Jim

            November 25, 2019 at 16:17

            That also goes the other way, with people on twitter, tumblr and Metacritic lauding it as an intellectual and thought-provoking exploration of race and race relations in America. Both sides are missing the point. It’s a mediocre show based on an excellent graphic novel, that tries desperately to convince the viewer that it has something important to say, but it stumbles right out of the gate, with characters that quite literally were cut-out-of-a current year Marvel comic (rather than from the mind of Alan Moore). It’s nowhere near as smart as it pretends to be. It’s not even in the same league as the first season of Westworld, although it’s damn near close to the idiocy of the second season.

          • Words of Ivory

            November 25, 2019 at 14:35

            That’s not what I’m seeing.

            And even if that was the case, why is that an invalid complaint?

      • Words of Ivory

        November 25, 2019 at 12:31

        Because of those amazing things called “opinions”.

        Just because there are people agree with you doesn’t mean your opinion is “right”, not does the level of praise by those people make your opinion “more right”. That’s not how opinions work. Opinions are entirely unique to the individual, and based on their own preferences, viewpoints, experiences and (often) biases.

        You see a show with great storytelling, acting and directing. Other people see a show that lacks character nuance or any real actual depth.

        That’s the beauty of opinions. People can think differently from you and it can still be completely valid.

        Reply

        • Kervyn Cloete

          November 25, 2019 at 13:40

          Oh I’m not disagreeing with that one bit. I’ve defended some of my own odd preferences in the past for this very same reason (I will praise John Carter to my dying day). I realize that my previous comment may have come across a bit snotty, but that was not my intention.

          Reply

        • RinceThis

          November 25, 2019 at 13:12

          The lovely thing about opinions is that everyone can have them and be wrong. They are opinions, not facts. And in the case of this series the people hating on it are so obviously motivated by politics it’s borderline hysterical.

          Reply

          • Words of Ivory

            November 25, 2019 at 14:35

            Surely that applies to the people who like it too?

          • Son of Banana Jim

            November 25, 2019 at 13:40

            You don’t say, is that how it works? So why do you like Watchmen? What makes it tick for you? Is it the characters? Is it the acting? Is it the story? You’re borderline hysterical for not accepting that not everyone will like what you like, but what you can do is, provide reasons why YOU THINK someone might be wrong for not liking Watchmen.

            Merely distilling it down to “…motivated by politics…derp…a …derp”, is far too reductive. It’s also a terrible argument. Instead, tell us why you like the show! Why should I care? Or why am I wrong if I say that the characters aren’t fully-realised. Why would you say they are fully-realised?

            It’s fine if you like the show, I just think it’s a dumb show written by your typical white Hollywood liberal, who’s clearly suffering from a bad case of white guilt. AND they don’t know a thing about what made the Watchmen books so awesome. It’s the worst kind of bait and switch.

      • Yondaime

        November 25, 2019 at 12:41

        Took the words right off my keyboard, I’m only 3 episodes in and I absolutely love it.

        Reply

      • Son of Banana Jim

        November 25, 2019 at 12:47

        You’ve known me for just under a decade, when have I ever cared about the opinions of critics or the views of the majority? It’s like you don’t even know me, Kerv.

        Reply

      • RinceThis

        November 25, 2019 at 13:12

        Nope. If they don’t like the politics they use other things to excuse that.

        Reply

      • Mabenito

        July 14, 2020 at 15:55

        The downvotes didn’t know you are also a time traveler. Sic Mundus Creatus Est by Trump. LOL

        Reply

    • RinceThis

      November 25, 2019 at 12:59

      And you are once again terribly wrong.

      Reply

  2. RinceThis

    November 25, 2019 at 12:59

    I love this series. It is superb.

    Reply

    • Son of Banana Jim

      November 25, 2019 at 13:06

      That’s good to know – if only your opinion mattered. hahaha!

      Reply

    • Mabenito

      July 14, 2020 at 15:55

      I’m also here for the downvotes time traveler. LOL. Which universe are you from? LOL

      Reply

  3. Mabenito

    November 25, 2019 at 16:07

    I haven’t seen down-votes in years, until today; which supposedly mean they hate this series?

    Reply

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