Watchmen Season 2: Everything we know about the HBO superhero saga

HBO’s Watchmen arrived with a bang at the end of 2019 with a story we’re still unpacking well into 2020. Created by Damon Lindelof and based on the 1986-87 DC Comics series of the same name written by Alan Moore and illustrated by Dave Gibbons, the show picks up decades after the original comics ended, transforming this Cold War-era story into a reflection of white supremacy and its influence on politics in America today.

After the success of Season 1, fans were quick to ask if and when a Watchmen Season 2 would happen. Here’s everything we know about that possibility.

This should be obvious, but spoilers ahead for Watchmen Season 1.

Will Watchmen return for Season 2?

At this moment, it doesn’t appear likely. Watchmen was never originally made with the intention for it to last longer than one season. From the very beginning, Damon Lindelof has maintained Watchmen was envisioned as a standalone limited series. As such, the story he meant to tell was going to feel like a complete story.

The showrunner has given his blessing to HBO to give the reigns to another showrunner if they choose to continue. However, the network then went on to say that they are not pursuing a second season at the moment due to Lindelof’s decision.

When will Watchmen Season 2 premiere on HBO?

If Watchmen did, in fact, score a Season 2, it’s quite possible we won’t see it materialize until at least 2022. The high-concept series feels aligned with another big HBO series, Westworld, in terms of its scope, storytelling, and craftsmanship (also hard to ignore these two are based on popular movies and books, but I digress). Not to mention, the network would only greenlight a Season 2 if whoever succeeds Lindelof as showrunner had an idea worthy of a sequel.

Which Watchmen cast members will come back for Season 2?

None of the Watchmen cast has officially announced whether they’re signed on for a Season 2 (should it happen), so we can’t confirm it, nor could we proceed to guess what would happen in Season 2 based on who’s coming back.

That said, we do have a decent idea of which cast members could logically return for Season 2 based on the ending of Season 1. Those cast members include Regina King (Angela Abar, aka Sister Night); Tim Blake Nelson (Wade Tillman, aka Looking Glass); Jean Smart (Laurie Blake); Jeremy Irons (Adrian Veidt); Louis Gossett, Jr. (Will Reeves, aka Hooded Justice); Tom Mison (Mr. Phillips); Sarah Vickers (Ms. Crookshanks); Dylan Schombing (Topher Abar); Jolie Hoang-Rappaport (Bian).

Unfortunately, based on the Season 1 finale, we know that Hong Chau (Lady Trieu), Yahya Abdul-Mateen II (Doctor Manhattan), and James Wolk (Senator Joe Keene, Jr.) can’t come back unless their characters appear in flashbacks.

How did Watchmen Season 1 end?

The Watchmen Season 1 finale was literally and figuratively explosive, with lots of loops closed as new ones opened and the episode ultimately capped by a meaning-laden end credits song that had us scratching our heads.

Basically, everyone wanted to be blue. Senator Joe Keene, Jr. and Lady Trieu had their own respective reasons for wanting to capture and absorb Doctor Manhattan’s powers. Keene Jr. was a gross racist who, I’m guessing, wanted Doc’s powers to enact some gross racist atrocities on people of color. Meanwhile, Trieu said she wanted the powers to make the world a better place but was more likely motivated by selfish ambition for power and probably wouldn’t have used those powers for good.

In the end, it was Angela who was the rightful heir to Doctor Manhattan’s powers. After his death, Angela recalled her late husband’s words about being able to transfer his powers into organic matter along with the memory of their fight while he made pancakes, wherein she ended up smashing all but one important egg. Angela ended up going out to the pool (as Manhattan had instructed her to do before his death) and eating the egg, which presumably contained his powers.

Additionally, we learned Lady Trieu was Adrian Veidt’s daughter. Despite their contentious relationship, we saw that Veidt and his progeny had a serious bit of comeuppance for their shared trait of cold, calculated intelligence. While Trieu was killed by the machine meant to transfer Manhattan’s powers into her body, Laurie Blake and Wade Tillman ended up arresting Veidt for his orchestration of the fake inter-dimensional squid attack in the late ‘80s.

What is the plot of Watchmen Season 2?

We don’t know the plot of Watchmen Season 2, but that’s only because the show hasn’t been renewed yet. One thing I hope we get in Watchmen Season 2: Vindication for Lube Man, who was revealed to be Agent Dale Petey via a very stern and 100% real memo from Petey’s boss at the FBI (via Peteypedia). The Silver Surfer analog deserves lots more screentime than he was given in Season 1 and needs some screentime ASAP.

In all seriousness (although I am hella serious about #MoreLubeMan2022), Season 2 could go in a myriad of directions. If Season 2 were to carry on the story it set up in Season 1, the focus could be turned to the Earth trial of Adrian Veidt for his faked squid attack and the rise of Angela Abar as Doctor Manhattan II. There could also be an exploration into the future of vigilantism and its legitimacy in America, as well as the fallout of the white supremacist group Cyclops’ infiltration of the Tulsa police department.

Or, Season 2 has the option to take a more anthological approach to Watchmen while keeping up Lindelof’s intentions to carry on the story initially set down in Moore’s Watchmen comics. If this were to happen, Watchmen could bring in an entirely new set of characters existing within the alternate timeline of this world and with full knowledge of the events of Season 1 but living out a new story.

Did someone say… Nite Owl?

Watchmen is currently streaming on HBO.