WENN

Watchmen won't be returning to HBO as showrunner Damon Lindelof isn't interested in making a second season.

The critically acclaimed graphic novel adaptation, which starred Regina King, Don Johnson, Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, and Jeremy Irons, was a hit with fans, who were hoping the cryptic season finale would lead to a second series.

However, according to executives at HBO, Lindelof has made it clear he's not interested in revisiting the show, with HBO programming chief Casey Bloys confirming the network won't proceed with another without him.

"It's really in Damon's thinking about what he wants to do," he told USA Today. "If there's an idea that excited him about another season, another installment, maybe like a Fargo, True Detective (anthology) take on it, or if he wants to do something different altogether. We're very proud of Watchmen, but what I'm most interested in what Damon wants to do."

Lindelof, who also created hit show Lost, had said all along that the nine episodes spun out of the acclaimed graphic novel – about an alternate history where superheroes exist, and Richard Nixon remained president well into the 1980s – were a self-contained story, and that there might not be a follow-up.

The series built on the foundation of the graphic novel by Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons, expanding its template with new characters that brought the story into the present day.

Damon has reportedly given his blessing to HBO to pursue future seasons, but it's unlikely that will happen without him.

Bloys added, "It would be hard to imagine doing it without Damon involved in some way."