A television adaption of the Watchmen comic has been officially ordered to series, which is slated to debut in 2019.
The series, based on the critically acclaimed set of DC graphic novels, will be written and executive produced by Lost's writer and co-creator Damon Lindelof.
Set in an alternative history where superheroes have been outlawed, the show won't be a direct adaption of the comics but will instead tell a completely new story in the present day.
Lindelof said the television series won't be a sequel but would keep the "tradition of the work that inspired it", comparing the original 12 issues to the Old Testament.
"When the New Testament came along it did not erase what came before it," he told media in June.
On Saturday (NZ time) HBO confirmed the cast will include Regina King, Jeremy Irons, Don Johnson and Tim Blake Nelson, while Nicole Kassell, best known for The Leftovers, will direct the pilot episode.
Regularly considered by critics as some of the most significant works of literature of the last century, the Watchmen novels won the 1988 Hugo Award and have been listed on Time's All-Time Greatest Novels list.
It was previously produced into a 2009 film directed by Zack Snyder, which received polarised reviews, with praise for its dark visuals and adult themes but criticism for its use of nudity, confusing narrative and long running time.
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