During SDCC 2019, a new trailer for the upcoming Watchmen HBO series was released. The trailer further details the escalating conflict that will take center stage in the show: A world set after the events of the legendary comic series where police have elected to wear masks like vigilantes following a coordinated attack on cops everywhere--what's the difference between a masked policeman and a dangerous vigilante, though? That's the rub. The trailer also takes time to flesh out the motivations of some of the key characters, some more familiar for fans of the comics than others. You can watch the new San Diego Comic-Con trailer above.
Based on the comic of the same name, Watchmen takes place in an alternate version of the US in which vigilantes rose to prominence and then quickly became outlawed after billionaire "philanthropist" Adrien Veidt staged a catastrophic attack on New York City to prompt a sort of unification of the world in shared terror of extraterrestrial threats. Seriously, there's a giant squid and everything--it's just as crazy as it sounds.
In the show, however, costumed heroes as criminals and the police have stepped into their place, wearing masks and bending laws and reigning terror down on the people they're supposed to be protecting. Superheroes may still exist in this new status quo, however--several characters from the comics are featured in the trailer, including Hooded Justice and the omnipotent blue Doctor Manhattan, who moved to Mars during the events of the comics and apparently remains there.
Watchmen has always been, at its core, an exploration of the "reality" of a society populated with vigilantes--superpowered or otherwise, and a text looking to question the ability of anyone to engage in violent actions with little accountability. The trailer suggests that tone will be maintained, though from a completely different angle.
Airing on HBO, Watchmen will debut in October 2019.