Jeremy Irons reportedly playing Ozymandias in HBO’s Watchmen series

Last Updated on July 30, 2021

There aren't a ton of details about Damon Lindelof's HBO Watchmen series out there, but we do know that it won't be a straight adaptation of Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons' Watchmen comic, as Lindelof has said that "those issues are sacred ground and will not be retread nor recreated nor reproduced nor rebooted. They will however be remixed. Because the bass lines in those familiar tracks are just too good and we’d be fools not to sample them." Lindelof referred to the original comic as their "Old Testament," meaning that the new series will not erase what came before. It was unknown whether any of the original characters would be making appearances in the new series, but according to /Film, at least one of them will be.

Jeremy Irons joined the Watchmen cast back in June and it was reported that his role would be that of an "aging and imperious lord of a British manor," but as /Film tells it, Irons will actually be playing Adrian Veidt, aka Ozymandias, the wealthy and brilliant industrialist who engineered a fake alien invasion and killed thousands in an effort to bring about world peace. Photos from the Watchmen set earlier this summer hinted that Adrian Veidt had recently died, as a headline in a newspaper stated "Veidt Officially Declared Dead." Even if it's true, it doesn't necessarily mean that Veidt really is dead as he wouldn't be above faking his own death in order to plot from the shadows.

In addition to the Ozymandias, /Film also stated (confirmed by Deadline) that Jean Smart (Legion) would be joining the cast as an FBI agent tasked with tracking down vigilantes. The name of Smart's character should be familiar to Watchmen fans: Agent Blake. If you'll recall, the real name of The Comedian in the original series was Edward Blake. There's the possibility that Smart's character could somehow be related to The Comedian or it could simply be a little nod. The upcoming HBO series is expected to debut in 2019 and also stars Regina King, Don Johnson, Tim Blake Nelson, Louis Gossett Jr., James Wolk, Adelaide Clemens, Andrew Howard, Tom Mison, Frances Fisher, Jacob Ming-Trent, and Yahya Abdul-Mateen II.