Watchmen HBO series to add Alfred Pennyworth in lead role

Damon Lindelof is off to the races when it comes to trying to get his adaptation of DC Comics’ Watchmen to HBO and his latest casting choice is huge — albeit confusing.

Deadline reported that Lindelof is adding Jeremy Irons in a lead role for the Watchmen HBO pilot. What makes this confusing?

Watchmen is a DC Comics property and Jeremy Irons already plays Alfred Pennyworth in the DC Comics franchise — portraying the role in both Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice and Justice League.

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Of course, while Watchmen broke into the DC Comics Universe recently, it originally existed in an alternate timeline, which the HBO series is focusing on.

Watchmen took place in a world where operating as a superhero was made illegal. It was also a world where Richard Nixon got to remain president. When someone starts killing members of the classic superhero team The Crimebusters, former member Rorschach sets out to find out who it was.

The Watchmen TV show takes place after the events of the comic (and the Zack Snyder movie) but remains in the same world. Lindelof has compared it to how Fargo tells stories in the same world as the movie it was based.

While the plot remains under wraps, Jeremy Irons joins an impressive cast that also includes Regina King (American Crime), Don Johnson (Miami Vice), Tim Blake Nelson (The Incredible Hulk), Louis Gossett Jr. (The Punisher), Adelaide Clemens (X-Men Origins: Wolverine) and Andrew Howard (Bates Motel).

Damon Lindelof wrote the script for the Watchmen HBO pilot and executive produces it with director Nicole Kassell (The Woodsman) and Tom Spezialy (Desperate Housewives).

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Jeremy Irons has won an Academy Award in movies (Best Actor for Reversal of Fortune), Emmy Award for television (Supporting Actor for Elizabeth I) and a Tony Award for his stage work (Best Actor for The Real Thing), one of the few people to win an award in all three forms of acting.

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