A day after Damon Lindelof posted a heartfelt, five-page letter about his "remix" of "Watchmen," Alan Moore's beloved comic book, the writer/producer and HBO announced the six lead actors.

The cast includes Regina King, who starred in two seasons of Lindelof's critically acclaimed "The Leftovers." Also headlining are Don Johnson ("Miami Vice"), Louis Gossett Jr. ("An Officer and a Gentleman"), Tim Blake Nelson ("O Brother, Where Art Thou?"), Adelaide Clemens ("Rectify") and Andrew Howard ("Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.").

The details of their characters were not released.

Lindelof's version of "The Watchmen" is set in an alternate history where "superheroes" are treated as outlaws. In his letter, he explained, "We have no desire to 'adapt' the twelve issues Mr. Moore and Mr. [Dave] Gibbons created thirty years ago. Those issues are sacred ground and they will not be retread nor recreated nor reproduced nor rebooted.

"They will, however, be remixed."

He added, "But we are not making a 'sequel' either. This story will be set in the world its creators painstakingly built ... but in the tradition of the work that inspired it, this new story must be original."