HBO's DMZ Adaptation Has Found Its Star

HBO's adaptation of Brian Wood and Riccardo Burchielli's comic series, DMZ, is shaping up to be a big deal, with a major star cast in the lead for the pilot. Rosario Dawson has been cast as Alma, according to The Hollywood Reporter. The character, a medic who is looking for her lost son, is actually an original creation for the TV show who did not appear in the book.

DMZ is set after a second civil war has ripped up much of America, and is focused on a version of Manhattan that has been declared a demilitarized zone. The comic ran for 72 issues between 2005 and 2012.

The pilot will be directed by Ava DuVernay, who is best known for directing Selma and A Wrinkle in Time, and who also directed 2019's magnificent Netflix series When They See Us. She is also directing DC's The New Gods, which she also co-wrote. Roberto Patino, the co-executive producer of Westworld season 2, is showrunner.

Dawson recently starred in Zombieland: Double Tap, and played Jane Ramos in 18 episodes of Jane the Virgin (she's not the titular character, just for the record). She also played Claire Temple across several Netflix Marvel shows.

It's not yet known when DMZ will premiere on HBO, and filming has not yet begun.