Somewhere, Alan Moore’s beard is tingling. Zack Snyder’s cinematic adaptation of the iconic Watchmen comics by Moore and Dave Gibbons divided fans, some sticking with assertions of the source material as “unfilmable,” others acknowledging the film’s effort. That conflict may end up sparked anew, now that Snyder has reportedly met with HBO for a Watchmen TV series.

Take this all with a grain of salt for the moment, though Collider reports that the Batman v. Superman director has undertaken several meetings with the premium cable channel, stressing the preliminary nature of the meetings, and uncertain focus of any Watchmen adaptation.

The twelve-part comic series struggled to fit in to Snyder’s lengthy 2009 rendition as is, leaving it unclear if an HBO Watchmen TV series would serve as a straight adaptation / miniseries, re-imagining, sequel, prequel or what. 2012 also saw DC printing a finite Before Watchmen series, exploring the characters of Silk Spectre, The Comedian, Nite Owl, Ozymandias, Rorschach, and Dr. Manhattan, before the events of the main series. Again, only meetings between Snyder and HBO have been confirmed for the moment, their specific nature unclear.

For those unfamiliar with Moore and Gibbons’ original 1986 work, Watchmen explored a world in which the emergence of costumed heroes (and one super-powered being) radically altered history, after which the murder of a retired hero reunited the so-called “Minutemen” toward unraveling a potential doomsday plot. Revered in comic culture, it has also been recognized as one of Time’s list of the 100 best English-language novel.

Snyder’s 2009 film culminated decades of attempts to adapt the material, and starred the likes of Malin Akerman, Patrick Wilson, Matthew Goode, Billy Crudup, Jackie Earle Haley, and Jeffrey Dean Morgan.

Adapting the material again for HBO marks an intriguing idea at least, though it remains unclear how directly Snyder would involve himself, should HBO move forward with the project. What angle should the network take, if a Watchmen TV series comes to pass? Watch the trailer for 2009's version below.

More From ComicsAlliance