The clock strikes "sequel" in the first full trailer for HBO's Watchmen

So far, the most fascinating thing about Damon Lindelof’s HBO Watchmen adaptation has been all the things it’s not doing—namely, following too closely in the footsteps of Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons’ original graphic novel. Instead, the Regina King-starring series seems to be charting its own path, one full of ominous apocalyptic imagery, masked Rorschach wannabes, and one very tranquil-looking Jeremy Irons. But even the teaser that HBO released back in May didn’t give us much more to go on, leaving the rest of us to wonder—to put it bluntly—just what the hell this show is going to be.

Some of that veil lifted today, though, when HBO released the first full trailer for the show during this year’s San Diego Comic-Con. (The series doesn’t have its own panel this year, but has been featuring a nearby “activation” that’s been the first real hint that the nigh-godlike Doctor Manhattan might be part of the show.) Which was swiftly followed by a whole bunch more “hints,” plus a lot of material—including the presence of former Silk Spectre Laurie as an FBI agent, and a headline noting the death of Ozymandias—that the series will be a sequel to the original graphic novel.

Watchmen debuts this fall on HBO.