The Watchmen HBO series will introduce fans to new characters, rather than dwell on the ones commonly known from Alan Moore's classic graphic novel.

Zack Snyder's 2009 Watchmen film was relatively true to Moore's work, featuring recognisable characters such as Nite Owl (Patrick Wilson), Doctor Manhattan (Billy Crudup), Rorschach (Jackie Earle Hayley) and Laurie Juspeczyk (Malin Åkerman).

Warner Bros.

But according to the new TV series' showrunner, Damon Lindelof, we're going to be seeing a whole new bunch of heroes.

Speaking to The Wrap, Lindelof said he'd be willing to cast the actors from the movie in his TV series, but they wouldn't be playing the same characters.

“Maybe. Again, I don’t want to be cutesy about it," he said. "Our Watchmen, with two notable exceptions, is trying to introduce new characters as opposed to dwelling on characters from the classic. But never say never.”

Warner Bros.

The two exceptions he refers to are Jeremy Irons, who will play an older version of Ozymandias/Adrien Veidt (portrayed by Matthew Goode in the movie) and Jean Smart, who will play an older Laurie Juspeczyk, although her last name will be 'Blake' in the series.

With the series being set 30 years after the events of Snyder's film (although not in the same universe), Lindelof explained how it would be too confusing to have the same characters appear.

HBO

“Because then that [movie] becomes canon," he said. "In the same way that the Marvel movie ‘X-Men’ are outside the canon of the Disney movies.

It’s sort of like: Can Patrick Stewart play Professor X? Because those ‘X-Men’ movies, they seem to be happening in a world where the Avengers and Spider-Man didn’t exist.

“If Patrick Wilson was suddenly Nite Owl — by the way he’d be too young, our Nite Owl is in his early 70s — if he were to appear. I don’t want to confuse people.”

Watchmen will air on HBO in the US and Sky Atlantic in the UK this October.

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