Comic book sequel: Doomsday Clock
The sequel to Watchmen, entitled Doomsday Clock, is part of the DC Rebirth line of comics, additionally continuing a narrative established with 2016's one-shot DC Universe: Rebirth Special and 2017's crossover The Button, both of which featured Doctor Manhattan in a minor capacity. The miniseries, taking place seven years after the events of Watchmen in November 1992, follows Ozymandias as he attempts to locate Doctor Manhattan alongside Reginald Long, the successor of Walter Kovacs as Rorschach, following the exposure and subsequent failure of his plan for peace and the subsequent impending nuclear war between the United States and Russia.[99] The series was revealed on May 14, 2017, with a teaser image displaying the Superman logo in the 12 o'clock slot of the clock depicted in Watchmen and the series title in the bold typeface used for Watchmen.[100] The first of a planned twelve issues was released on November 22, 2017.[101]
The story includes many DC characters but has a particular focus on Superman and Doctor Manhattan, despite Superman stated as being a fictional character in the original series—the series uses the plot element of the multiverse. Writer Geoff Johns felt like there was an interesting story to be told in Rebirth with Doctor Manhattan. He thought there was an interesting dichotomy between Superman—an alien who embodies and is compassionate for humanity—and Doctor Manhattan—a human who has detached himself from humanity. This led to over six months of debates amongst the creative team about whether to intersect the Watchmen universe with the DC Universe, through the plot element of alternate realities. He explained that Doomsday Clock was the "most personal and most epic, utterly mind-bending project" that he had worked on in his career.[100]
Television series sequel
HBO brought on Damon Lindelof to develop a Watchmen television show, which premiered on October 20, 2019.[102] Lindelof, a fan of the limited series, made the show a "remix" of the comic, narratively a sequel while introducing a new set of characters and story that he felt made the work unique enough without being a full reboot of the comic series.[103] Among its main cast are Regina King, Don Johnson, Tim Blake Nelson, Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, and Jeremy Irons. The television show takes place in 2019, 34 years after the end of the limited series, and is primarily set in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Due to liberal policies set by President Robert Redford to provide reparations to those affected by racial violence, white supremacist groups (following the writings of Rorschach) attack the police who enforce these policies, leading to laws requiring police to hide their identity and wear masks. This has allowed new masked crime fighters to assist the police against the supremacists. Doctor Manhattan, Adrian Veidt / Ozymandias, and Laurie Blake / Silk Spectre are central characters to the show's plot.
