In some news that’s sure to grab the attention of many a genre fan, Oscar winner Jeremy Irons has boarded HBO’s upcoming Watchmen series.

Deadline broke the news, with Irons to play a new, original character in the show. If you remember back, Damon Lindelof’s Watchmen will a completely new story loosely set in and around what fans know and love about Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons’ iconic 1986 miniseries. Where Irons is concerned, his role is reportedly that of an “aging and imperious lord of a British manor”.

Recently seen as Alfred in the DC Extended Universe, Irons joins a cast that features The Leftovers’ Regina King, Django Unchained’s Don Johnson, Lincoln’s Tim Blake Nelson, An Officer and a Gentleman’s Louis Gossett Jr., The Brave’s Andrew Howard, and Rectify’s Adelaide Clemens. No details are known on just which characters any of these names are playing, although Regina King is believed to be the lead role of the series.

Watchmen began life back in 1986 as a twelve-issue miniseries from Moore and Gibbons, soon going on to become a hugely acclaimed classic and a tale regularly cited as one of the greatest comic book/graphic novel stories of all time. A big screen adaptation finally happened in 2009, with Zack Snyder directing a huge blockbuster starring the likes of Billy Crudup, Malin Akerman, Jackie Earle Haley, Matthew Goode, Patrick Wilson, Carla Gugino, and Jeffrey Dean Morgan.

Expect more on Watchmen as it continues to develop.