Though HBO has been mum about details, Lindelof has taken to his Instagram page to both assure fans and share his vision. He's described the graphic novel as the Old Testament, and his Watchmen as the New Testament. "We have no desire to 'adapt' the twelve issues Mr. Moore and Mr. Gibbons created thirty years ago," he wrote. "Those issues are sacred ground and will not be retread nor recreated nor reproduced nor rebooted." He goes on to say that, just like the New Testament didn't wipe anything out from the Old Testament, his Watchmen will do the same. Everything that happened before is canon in the HBO series.
So what exactly will Watchmen be about? According to Lindelof, the story will be an original set in the modern-day world, which you get a peek at in the teaser. However, it appears as though the world is drastically different following the comic's tragic events.
As Lindelof's post states, "It must ask new questions and explore the world through a fresh lens. Most importantly, it must be contemporary. The Old Testament was specific to the Eighties of Reagan and Thatcher and Gorbachev. Ours needs to resonate with the frequency of Trump and May and Putin and the horse that he rides around on, shirtless. And speaking of Horsemen, The End of the World is off the table . . . which means the heroes and villains — as if the two are distinguishable — are playing for different stakes entirely."
