Director Nicole Kassell (The Leftovers, Westworld) has been chosen by HBO to helm the pilot for Damon Lindelof’s upcoming Watchmen series, according to Deadline. Kassell is known for directing episodes of The Leftovers (which is a Lindelof series), Westworld and the upcoming Castle Rock. She will executive produce the project with Lindelof. She is also known for her first feature The Woodsman. The Watchmen series has received an order for backup scripts.
Originally published as a 12-issue miniseries beginning in 1986, Watchmen quickly become one of sequential art’s most acclaimed stories. Zack Snyder’s feature adaptation of Watchmen, meanwhile, was released in 2009 and brought in just $185 million at the worldwide box office. The cast includes Malin Akerman, Billy Crudup, Matthew Goode, Jackie Earle Haley, Jeffrey Dean Morgan, Carla Gugino, and Patrick Wilson.
Since the film’s release, DC Comics released an extensive “Before Watchmen” comic line, telling stories from the pasts of the central characters. More recently, DC Comics has made efforts to integrate Watchmen into the broader DC Multiverse.
Lindelof, whose The Leftovers recently concluded its three-season run, is best known for co-creating the hit ABC series Lost. His contributions to the big screen include scripting films like Prometheus, Tomorrowland and Star Trek Into Darkness.
