Robert Redford is now the President of the United States. Or at least he is in HBO’s upcoming superhero drama series Watchmen. Alan Moore’s original comic book story features Richard Nixon as POTUS with a hint that Redford will run for the office in the final pages of the comic, now Watchmen producer Damon Lindelof revealed at TCA that Nixon died in office and Oscar-winner Redford is serving right up through 2019. Despite conflicting reports from some outlets, Redford will likely NOT be appearing in the series as himself.
According to the Watchmen producer, the show will analyze “what happens if a well-intentioned white man is president for far too long.”
“What in 2019 is the equivalent of the nuclear standoff between the Americans and the Russians? It is race and the police,” Lindelof said. “There is no defeating white supremacy — it’s not going away. There are no easy answers and grandiose solution.”
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Set in an alternate history where “superheroes” are treated as outlaws, Watchmen embraces the nostalgia of the original groundbreaking graphic novel while attempting to break new ground of its own. Originally published as a 12-issue miniseries beginning in 1986, Watchmen quickly become one of sequential art’s most acclaimed stories. The original story centers on a murder-mystery before unfolding into a planet-altering conspiracy that ultimately asks where the fine line is drawn between heroes and villains. Check out the original comic for yourself by purchasing it here.
Lindelof serves as creator, writer, showrunner, and executive producer on the Watchmen series, with Tom Spezialy, Stephen Williams, and Joseph Iberti also executive producing. Additionally, Nicole Kassell will executive produce and direct the pilot. The series comes from Lindelof’s White Rabbit in association with Warner Bros. Television and is based on the DC Comics characters.
Watchmen will premiere on HBO later this year. Are you happy with HBO’s choice to set the story under Robert Redford’s presidency? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section below.
