HBO has released the first trailer for Watchmen. Written by Damon Lindelof, the upcoming original series is described as “embracing the nostalgia of the original groundbreaking graphic novel of the same name while attempting to break new ground of its own.”

Contrary to what you might think, HBO’s Watchmen is not a direct adaptation of the classic graphic novel by Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons. However, from the looks of the trailer, it is set in a present-day modern setting, which likely means that it will be a sequel of sorts.

If that’s true, it won’t be the first property to act as a sequel to the original comic book, as DC’s ongoing Doomsday Clock comic is currently doing the same thing. While HBO’s Watchmen won’t be adapting Doomsday Clock, it will be featuring two characters who were initially introduced in the sequel comic, Mime and Marionette.

In the Watchmen trailer, superheroes and vigilantes are still outlawed in the world, but it seems that people are taking matters into their own hands, with a Rorscach-inspired cult or gang of sorts, chanting “tick-tock” throughout the duration of the one-minute-long trailer.

There will also be several new characters who were not present in the original comic or DC’s Doomsday Clock, including a new female vigilante named Angela Abraham (Regina King) and a peculiar character named Looking Glass (Tim Blake Nelson).

Angela Abraham (Regina King)

Looking Glass (Tim Blake Nelson)

Meanwhile, only one of the original members of the Watchmen team is confirmed to return in HBO’s Watchmen, and that’s Adrian Veidt AKA Ozymandias. He was the antagonist in the original graphic novel, who perpetrated a fake squid invasion (which killed millions of people) just to prevent the world from sliding into nuclear war.

This is going to be a much older Ozymandias, but it certainly looks like he’s about to start meddling in things again with the world spiraling into chaos.

Adrian Veidt/Ozymandias (Jeremy Irons)

HBO’s Watchmen also stars Don Johnson, Jean Smart, Louis Gossett Jr., Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, Hong Chau, Andrew Howard, Tom Mison, Frances Fisher, Jacob Ming-Trent, Sara Vickers, Dylan Schombing, and James Wolk.

No release date has been announced as of yet, but HBO’s Watchmen will premiere in Asia the same time as the U.S. sometime in fall 2019, exclusively on HBO (Astro Ch 411 / 431 HD).

In the meantime, check out the Watchmen trailer below.

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eXpWKGgwhig&w=560&h=315]