'Watchmen' star Yahya Abdul-Mateen II says he plans to be more creative during his downtime

Michael Kovac/Getty Images for AFIYahya Abdul-Mateen II is likely making the most of his downtime during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Before his HBO superhero drama Watchmen launched late last year, Abdul-Mateen II told ABC Audio that he was already thinking about what he wanted to do during his time off.

“I think I want to write more,” he said. “I’ve already been writing. I started writing when I had some downtime on Aquaman, actually.”

Since 2018’s Aquaman, Yahya has been a busy man. He has had leading roles in Jordan Peele‘s Us, HBO’s Watchmen, and the forthcoming horror sequel Candyman.

But even with so much on his plate, Abdul-Mateen II longs for the opportunity to get behind the camera.

“I think it’s a really great time… for an artist to be creating their own content,” Abdul-Mateen II said. “I think a lot of artists are doing that right now.”

Of course, with nowhere to go and film productions halted, it seems to be the perfect time for the actor to live his dream and start creating that content. And, according to Abdul-Mateen II, he’s ready to go.

“I definitely have some stories to tell,” he said. “So I think that’s something that I’m looking forward to doing in the near future.”