Showrunner Damon Lindelof explains why Dan Dreiberg’s Nite Owl didn’t appear in HBO’s Watchmen aside from some of his technology.
One notable absence that fans quickly spotted was the absence of Nite Owl in Damon Lindelof’s Watchmen, especially since his technology was being used by the Tulsa Police Department. A site run by HBO called Peteypedia (run by a character in the show) noted that Dan Dreiberg was locked up for continuing his vigilantism at the time of Damon Lindelof’s Watchmen. But the showrunner has a legitimate reason for not including Nite Owl in the series.
In an interview with Collider, Damon Lindelof explained that because there were several other characters from the original source material that he and the writers wanted to focus on, bringing Dan Dreiberg’s Nite Owl back to Watchmen would have tipped the balance too far into the nostalgia of the show. He also revealed that there were multiple versions of HBO’s Watchmen where Nite Owl was an onscreen character, but didn’t mention what that might’ve looked like. Take a look at Damon Lindelof discussing Nite Owl in HBO’s Watchmen below.
“Oh my God, yes. I would say that we committed, it’s hard to quantify hours. But, if someone said that we kicked around that possibility for 40 hours of overall room time, that would feel a little low to me. But, one of the things that we are constantly trying to solve for, was the ratio between old and new. And, I felt very strongly that Laurie needed to be in this show. And, I felt very strongly that Manhattan needed to be in the show. And, I felt very strongly that Veidt needed to be in the show. And, we knew that the central character of the show was Hooded Justice and his granddaughter. It felt like, if we added Dan into the mix, that the balance tipped too much towards the old, and not enough towards the new. But, we did discuss multiple versions of what it would look like for him to appear.”
Are you disappointed Nite Owl didn’t appear in Damon Lindelof’s Watchmen? Would you want the vigilante to appear if a second season goes ahead? Sound off in the comments section below!
Set in an alternate history where “superheroes” are treated as outlaws, WATCHMEN embraces the nostalgia of the original groundbreaking graphic novel while attempting to break new ground of its own.
Watchmen stars Regina King, Jeremy Irons, Don Johnson, Jean Smart, Tim Blake Nelson, 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.
Source: Collider
