Okay, so it looks like it is all but confirmed that the upcoming Watchmen HBO series will indeed take place in an alternate present-day timeline — a timeline that follows the events in the Watchmen graphic novel. I know we’ve been saying that for a few months now, but the latest report from the folks over at /Film seem to confirm it completely outright.

According to them, the Oscar-winning Jeremy Irons, who has been on board the Damon Lindelof-led film for some time now, is set to play an aged Ozymandias. For those who don’t know, Ozymandias was a member of the Crimebusters in the graphic novel, and despite his altruistic nature, he committed the ultimate atrocity of siccing a giant squid on New York City, resulting in the deaths of thousands (millions?) of people. His hope was that an apparent alien invasion would unite the world further away from nuclear war and imminent destruction.

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Ozymandias’ real name is Adrian Veidt, and while you can certainly see where he was coming from in his actions, that is something that would sit horribly in anyone’s gut over the years. This is not confirmed, but I’m sure when we see Veidt again in the show, he’ll be emotionally scarred from the measures he had to take to bring the world to peace.

One interesting note is that set photos showed that Ozymandias was dead, and with that in mind, it’s a wonder if we’ll be seeing flashbacks that show how he was feeling at the end of his life.

That wasn’t all the outlet had to say. They also reported that veteran TV actress Jean Smart had joined the project in the role of an FBI agent. But, from the looks of it, she isn’t just any FBI agent. Her name is Agent Blake, and comic fans will know that Edward Blake had the alter ego of The Comedian, whose death sets the plot of the graphic novel in motion. Could she be related to him? That seems highly likely.

This all sounds very exciting, and I can’t wait to see how this project turns out. But what about you? How do you feel about this casting decision? Let us know your thoughts down below!

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SOURCE: /Film