HBO posted a press release earlier this week, casually noting that Tom's heretofore unnamed character is named Mr. Phillips. If this were any other show, that might sound like a butler's name, but in the twisty turny world of Watchmen, not much is as it seems on the surface. No other information was divulged, so we wait until October to find out for sure just what Mr. Phillips is really all about. Here is the full text of the press release:
Set in an alternate history where masked vigilantes are treated as outlaws, WATCHMEN, from executive producer Damon Lindelof (Emmy® winner for “Lost”; HBO’s “The Leftovers”) embraces the nostalgia of the original groundbreaking graphic novel of the same name, while attempting to break new ground of its own. Nicole Kassell directs the pilot from a script written by Lindelof.
Debuting in October, WATCHMEN reunites Lindelof with Regina King (HBO’s “The Leftovers”; Oscar® winner for “If Beale Street Could Talk”; Emmy® winner for “Seven Seconds” and “American Crime”; Golden Globe winner for “If Beale Street Could Talk”). King leads the cast as Angela Abar, who wears two masks; one as a lead detective in The Tulsa Police Force and another as wife and mother of three. The cast also includes Jeremy Irons (Oscar® winner for “Reversal of Fortune”; Emmy® winner for “Big Cat Week” and “Elizabeth I”) as the aging and imperious Lord of a British Manor; Don Johnson (Golden Globe winner for “Miami Vice”) as Judd Crawford, Tulsa Chief of Police; Jean Smart (Emmy® winner for “Samantha Who?” and “Frasier”) as FBI Agent Laurie Blake; Tim Blake Nelson as Detective Looking Glass; Louis Gossett Jr. (Oscar® winner for “An Officer and a Gentleman”; Emmy® winner for “Roots”) as Will Reeves; Yahya Abdul-Mateen II as Cal Abar; Tom Mison as Mr. Phillips; Frances Fisher as Jane Crawford and Sara Vickers as Ms. Crookshanks. Additional cast include Hong Chau as Lady Trieu, the mysterious trillionaire, Andrew Howard, Jacob Ming-Trent, Dylan Schombing and James Wolk.
Produced for HBO by White Rabbit in association with Warner Bros. Television; executive producer/writer Damon Lindelof; executive producer/director, Nicole Kassell; executive producer, Tom Spezialy; executive producer/director, Stephen Williams; executive producer, Joseph Iberti. Based on the iconic graphic novel co-created and illustrated by Dave Gibbons and published by DC.
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Photo credit: Mark Hill/HBO
