HBO hasn’t ordered Damon Lindelof‘s TV show adaptation of Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons‘ comic Watchmen to series yet, but they have ordered a pilot episode to aid them in making a decision. And the cast for that pilot episode just added a big name.

It’s being reported that Academy Award winner Jeremy Irons has signed on for the pilot, which would be only the second major TV role for the actor should HBO order it to series. The other being The Borgias.

After LOST and The Leftovers co-creator Damon Lindelof shared a lengthy letter with Watchmen fans about the potential HBO TV series based on the beloved comic earlier this week, some of the cast for the pilot episode ordered by HBO has been revealed.

According to reports Regina King, Don Johnson, Tim Blake Nelson, Louis Gossett Jr., Adelaide Clemens, and Andrew Howard will be starring in the first episode, which will ultimately decide whether HBO moves forward with the series or not.

It’s been almost a year now since we found out that LOST and The Leftovers co-creator Damon Lindelof was in talks to take on a Watchmen series at HBO, and eight months since Lindelof and his writing team officially got to work on a pilot episode for the potential series. It’s still only just a pilot episode, with word coming earlier this year that Nicole Kassell had been hired to direct the all-important first episode, which will help HBO decide if they want to move forward with a full season.

But now, after 140 days of working on the hopeful show, Lindelof has shared a lengthy letter aimed directly at fans of Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons‘ graphic novel, who are understandably skeptical of the series based on something they love so dearly and don’t want to see tarnished in any way. In this letter, he makes an intriguing revelation: this potential HBO series is not in fact another adaptation of Moore and Gibbons’ original work, but an original story set in the world they created. See what he had to say below.

Just a quick update on the potential TV series adaptation of the Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons graphic novel Watchmen being developed at HBO.

We first heard HBO was considering a Watchmen series back in 2015, when Zack Snyder, who directed a movie adaptation of the comic in 2009, was attached. A couple of years later we found out that LOST and The Leftovers co-creator and showrunner Damon Lindelof was joining the project, now with Snyder no longer involved. Then, this past September, things progressed when HBO ordered a pilot episode of the potential series.

And now we know who will direct that pilot. It’s being reported that Nicole Kassell has been locked in to helm the first episode, which could lead to a full series order from HBO if all goes well.

In 2015 it was reported that HBO was considering a TV series based on the Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons graphic novel Watchmen. Then, earlier this year in June, we found out that LOST and The Leftovers co-creator Damon Lindelof was in talks to work on the potential series.

Now comes word that things have taken another step toward the series becoming a reality. HBO has put in an order for a pilot episode of the series, and they’ve also commissioned more scripts. In addition to that, a writer’s room for the series has also begun work on the show.