WATCHMEN: New Image Of Jeremy Irons As Ozymandias(?); Damon Lindelof Reveals How The Show Tackles Race

A new Watchmen image has been released showing the character played by Jeremy Irons (who is believed to be Adrian Veidt), while Damon Lindelof has talked about how the series tackles Rorschach and race.

By JoshWilding - Sep 30, 2019 05:09 AM EST

Filed Under: Watchmen

Now that we know Watchmen is a sequel to the graphic novel of the same name, there's an awful lot of excitement surrounding the series before it debuts on HBO.

Now, showrunner Damon Lindelof has weighed in on the group of white supremacists who will be a focal point of the series. "We talked a lot about racism," he explains, adding that they looked to the current political climate. "We asked what’s the thing that’s causing a tremendous amount of anxiety in America today? The only authentic answer was race."

The question is, why are those racists wearing Rorschach's mask? "I don’t wanna editorialise on whether or not Rorschach was a white supremacist. I don’t think he was, but he certainly had what would now be considered some alt-right views," Lindelof says. "We wanted to explore that."

With these remarks come a new still featuring Jeremy Irons on horseback. Rumour has it that he's playing the older version of Ozymandias in Watchmen but time will tell on that front.

What do you guys think about these new details?

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Watchmen reveals from Damon Lindelof!

The Premise Of The Series

It's now been revealed that when Watchmen begins, Robert Redford has been the President of the United States for 28 years, cell phones and the internet have been outlawed, and costumed heroes are now banned (fossil fuels, meanwhile, are a thing of the past thanks to Dr. Manhattan's time on Earth...however, rumours persist that he's hiding out on Mars).

The police have been forced to don masks to protect their identities and can't use their guns without them being unlocked by a dispatcher first. Respirations have been issued for racial injustice but the country remains divided.

When the series begins, many of the original characters from the graphic novel are believed dead or missing and the focus will instead to be put on new character, Angela Abar, an Oklahoma detective who has adopted the superhero identity of "Sister Night." However, both Ozymandias and Silk Spectre II are expected to factor into this story in some way.

So, Is It A Sequel Or A Reboot?

In the past, Lindelof has indicated that Watchmen will be something of a reimagining and that led to many fans worrying that it would be more of a reboot than a sequel to the original story.

Thankfully, that doesn't appear to be the case. "Look, [the new series] certainly fits into the 'sequel' box, and definitely doesn’t fit into the 'reboot' box," Lindelof explains. "We treat the original 12 issues as canon. They all happened. We haven’t done any revisionist history, but we can maneuver in between the cracks and crevices and find new stories there."

He went on to say that, "we wanted to make sure our first episode felt like the beginning of a new story rather than a continuation of an old story. That’s what I think a sequel is — the continuation of an old story."

The World Is Very Different Now

In the time that's passed since the original story, President Robert Redford has introduced a legislation called "Victims Against Racial Violence" which Lindelof says are "a lifetime tax exemption for victims of, and the direct descendants of, designated areas of racial injustice throughout America’s history." He goes on to reveal that the real-life Tulsa massacre of 1921 is pivotal to that.

"That legislation had a ripple effect into another piece of legalization, DoPA, the Defense of Police Act, which allows police to hide their face behind masks because they were being targeted by terrorist organizations for protecting the victims of the initial act." Believe it or not, that white supremacist terrorist group is actually inspired by Rorschach and his actions as a vigilante.

Elaborating On Past Remarks

Last year, Lindelof shared an open letter in which he said that the series would "revisit the past century of Costumed Adventuring through a surprising yet familiar set of eyes and it’s here we’ll be taking our greatest risk." When the interviewer pointed out that they weren't sure who that was referring to even after watching the pilot, the writer made it clear that we may have to wait.

"You should be in exactly the place that you are at the end of the pilot, which is: 'I’m not sure what he’s talking about yet.' By the end of the sixth episode, it will be clear who I was talking about," he explains. "There won’t be any space for debate. I think people will start to theorize who I was talking about prior to the sixth episode, but that’s the one that makes the subtext text."

Could it be that Dr. Manhattan has disguised himself as one of the show's characters? We'll see!

Is Robert Redford Actually In The Show?

So, Robert Redford is President in Watchmen but is he actually in the show? We'd heard that his final acting gig was Avengers: Endgame and, as it turns out, he won't physically be appearing.

"[The] world of Watchmen is so heightened and so clearly it’s an alternate history that it will be clear to everyone we’re not talking about the real Robert Redford. More importantly, the way we handle this story, you can’t blame Robert Redford for everything that’s happened in the world."

"The show says Redford has a liberal ideology, much like the actual Robert Redford, and he was incredibly well-intentioned in terms of the legislation he passed and the America that he wanted to create. But that doesn’t mean it worked out the way he wanted it to. And that’s not on him, that’s on us." Even so, it will obviously be very interesting seeing how he's used compared to Nixon.

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19 Comments

tmp3 - 9/30/2019, 5:51 AM

I think it's really clever how this show is dealing with a group of people misinterpreting Rorschach's intentions and perverting his message, considering how people misconstrued him as the hero of the story even though he was just Travis Bickle with a face mask. Can't wait for this, Lindelof's last show is up there with Breaking Bad for me, really excited to see him tackle this stuff, though I'd be surprised if it's not controversial

GreedoSarducci - 9/30/2019, 6:57 AM

@tmp3 - which Lindelof show are you referring to?

tmp3 - 9/30/2019, 7:12 AM

@GreedoSarducci - The Leftovers

GreedoSarducci - 9/30/2019, 3:04 PM

@tmp3 - ah, gotcha. Thanks.

GhostDog - 9/30/2019, 6:57 AM

Rorschach followers like

L0RDbuckethead - 9/30/2019, 7:42 AM

@BlackBeltJones -

NinnesMBC - 9/30/2019, 7:29 AM

Nice pic. And it would be cool if they actually could get Robert Redford for this. I wonder why they thought of him of all people for a presidential role.

Stinkor1 - 9/30/2019, 7:34 AM

So is it going to use the cannon of the squid ending or the movie version?

Reeds2Much - 9/30/2019, 9:20 AM

Scarilian - 10/1/2019, 1:12 AM

Making it all about race is lazy, simple as that. Its not creative or inventive and from a story telling standpoint it offers little chance to expand into a conspiracy similar to the previous one.

Should have done about classism which would have fit better with the world Watchmen established. Those with power/status managed to get away with horrific acts by labelling themselves as a superhero. Comedian is the best example, so that ideology would be what causes the conflict.

As the story progresses they could then explore how it is primarily being caused by those in a higher up position doing things for the 'greater good' in a mindset inspired by Ozymandias. Then you'd have those following Rorschach slowly discovering a conspiracy run by those inspired by the actions of Ozymandias.

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WATCHMEN: New Image Of Jeremy Irons As Ozymandias(?); Damon Lindelof Reveals How The Show Tackles Race

A new Watchmen image has been released showing the character played by Jeremy Irons (who is believed to be Adrian Veidt), while Damon Lindelof has talked about how the series tackles Rorschach and race.

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So, Is It A Sequel Or A Reboot?

The World Is Very Different Now

Elaborating On Past Remarks

Is Robert Redford Actually In The Show?

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WATCHMEN Creator Alan Moore Has Told DC To Donate Any Of His Future Royalties To Black Lives Matter

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