Normally, when you adapt a comic book for TV or film, you’re not just basing the project off of one storyline. With “Spider-Man,” “Superman,” or “Avengers” films, you are pulling from decades and decades of stories for inspiration, thus eliminating the fear of upsetting the various writers and artists that told the stories over the years. However, Damon Lindelof has the unique situation of bringing the DC comic “Watchmen” to HBO later this year, and unfortunately, there’s only one writer that told the legendary series, Alan Moore. And unfortunately, Moore is a big grump (no offense intended).
Speaking at a recent TCA panel (via TV Line), Lindelof was asked about what he thinks of Alan Moore disavowing any interest in the upcoming TV series. Of course, for context, it’s important to note that Moore has never been a fan of Hollywood adapting his stories and has regularly asked for his name to be removed from the credits.
READ MORE: ‘Watchmen’ Trailer: Damon Lindelof Brings DC Comics Graphic Novel To HBO [Comic-Con]
“Alan Moore is a genius,” Lindelof said. “He’s made it very clear that he doesn’t want to have any association or affiliation with ‘Watchmen.’”
That being said, the “Lost” mastermind said that he’s not interested in listening to Moore’s opinion of the new HBO series. In fact, he said that the legendary comic book writer has a “punk rock spirit” and thinks that if someone told Moore that he couldn’t do something, “he would say, ‘Fuck you. I’m doing it anyway… so I’m channeling the spirit of Alan Moore to tell Alan Moore, ‘Fuck you. I’m doing it anyway.’”
Even though Lindelof is following the “Fuck you. I’m doing it anyway” mantra, the writer admits that there’s a level of fear with adapting the comic book world for TV, especially considering that he’s not just retelling Moore’s story, but instead, expanding upon it.
“I went through a very intensive period of terror of fucking it up, and I’m not entirely sure I’m out of that tunnel,” admits Lindelof.
After months of speculation and anticipation, fans are close to witnessing what Lindelof has been working on. HBO has announced that the “Watchmen” TV series, with the pilot episode directed by Nicole Kassell, will debut in October.
