Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons’ Watchmen is widely regarded as a classic and one of the best graphic novels of all time. Zack Snyder’s 2009 live-action adaptation, however, didn’t quite hit the mark for many fans. As a fan of the original source material, it felt like watching a bad tribute band murder my favorite songs. So, I’m both excited and delighted by the first trailer of Watchmen: Chapter 1, Warner Bros.’ new animated adaptation. It looks like the movie the live-action version should have been, so it’s fair to say that it has the potential to be one of the best superhero movies.
Like the original, this is not for kids: it’s a dark, dystopian R-rated nightmare. Set in an alternate-history 1980s USA, Watchmen follows a group of outlawed superheroes who are forced out of mandatory retirement by the murder of one of their own. As we soon discover, these superheroes are not so super – and not so heroic either.
The idea of a dark, morally conflicted superhero story might not sound so shocking now, but in the 1980s, the comic book series Watchmen and Batman: The Dark Knight Returns – which came out at the same time – transformed the genre. And Watchmen isn’t just a complex story well told, it’s visually stunning too. The makers of Watchmen: Chapter 1 have clearly strived to preserve that visual inventiveness, and the scenes with Dr. Manhattan in particular work so much better as animation than they did in the movie.
It sounds pretty great too, and the adaptation features a stellar voice cast. As IGN reports, the voices include:
– Matthew Rhys as Dan Dreiberg (Nite Owl)
– Katee Sackhoff as Laurie Juspeczyk (Silk Spectre)
– Titus Welliver as Rorschach (Walter Kovacs)
– Troy Baker as Adrian Veidt (Ozymandias)
– Adrienne Barbeau as Sally Jupiter (Silk Spectre)
– Corey Burton as Captain Metropolis
– Michael Cerveris as Jonathan Osterman (Dr. Manhattan)
– Jeffrey Combs as Edgar Jacobi (Moloch)
– Grey DeLisle
– Kelly Hu
– John Marshall Jones as Hooded Justice
– Max Koch
– Phil LaMarr
– Yuri Lowenthal as Wally Weaver
– Geoff Pierson as Hollis Mason (Nite Owl)
– Dwight Schultz
– Jason Spisak
– Kari Wahlgren as Janey Slater
– Rick D. Wasserman as Edward Blake (The Comedian)
They had me at “Harry Bosch is Rorschach.”
I’m excited about this, but I’ll have to wait to watch the whole thing: it won’t be released until August 13. But that doesn’t mean you can’t get a Watchmen fix in the meantime. If you’re in the US, HBO’s superb Watchmen TV show – which was inspired by the graphic novel but told a very different but equally shocking story – is streaming now on Max. Those in the UK can catch it on Sky or Now, while those in Australia can stream it on Foxtel Now and Stan.
Watchmen: Chapter 1 will be released digitally on August 13, and on 4K UHD and Blu-Ray on August 27. Watchmen: Chapter 2 will follow later this year.
The clock is winding down to midnight, dear readers; and it’s all thanks to Watchmen: Chapter 1 being set to reintroduce Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons’ watershed graphic novel to the world of film. Of course, the big difference is that the 2024 movie Watchmen: Chapter 1 is a totally animated affair, and the first of a two-part, full-color adaptation heading to digital platforms in August. The good news is that after watching this trailer, I have to agree with my colleagues that it’s absolutely gorgeous and holds a lot of promise. However, I still have one major concern.
Warner Bros. Animation and Paramount Pictures released the first trailer, and no you’re not seeing double with this headline. Our own Adam Holmes shared his concerns over the Watchmen animated teaser that went out in June; and his concern was more related to the world of upcoming DC Animated Movies. My concern is very different, as I’m a huge fan of not only the original book but also director Zack Snyder’s 2009 live-action adaptation. And from what I’m seeing with this trailer for Watchmen: Chapter 1, I’m concerned that this remake may have happened way too early.
I know it’s been 15 years since that film’s debut in theaters, and the Watchmen animated film rumor mill stretches as far back as 2017. So it’s not like this was a project that truly surprised anyone, and again this looks like a gorgeous, comic-accurate depiction of Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons’s work. However, that’s exactly where my problem lies, as I’m wondering how exactly Watchmen: Chapter 1 will begin to compete with the pre-existing movie.
There’s a reason that this DC/Vertigo story is a particularly steep hill to climb; as the source material rivals Lord of the Rings when it comes to choosing what to include and what to trim. Are we going to see Tales of the Black Freighter re-adapted, complete with its origin story restored to the overall plot of Watchmen? Is Under the Hood going to factor in more than previously? And are they going to be able to land all of those needle drops lovingly included in the 1985 book and 2009 film?
All of those issues were already handled by Zack Snyder and his crew, and to a degree that works on various levels. Even the creators of HBO’s limited series Watchmen sequel seemed to understand that point, by making the wise move to create a follow-up to the graphic novel and not the cinematic incarnation.
Though I will say, there is one major advantage Watchmen: Chapter 1 and 2 seem to already have sewn up. As you’ll see in the video provided below, this project already looks lightyears better than what we saw with 2009’s Watchmen: The Motion Comic.
Is it admirable to attempt such a feat again; especially with technology that can allow a book-accurate look? I absolutely agree that it is. Will I be waiting for Watchmen: Chapter 1 and 2 to drop, so I can eagerly watch them? You bet I will. But even with that in mind, my excitement is tempered. While I see this new footage in front of us, I can’t shake the ghosts of the cinematic past when I see them play out.
The times, they are a-changin’ again; and I guess we’ll just have to wait and see how things shake out. Watchmen: Chapter 1 will start counting down to Doomsday, on August 13th. In the meantime, if you want to revisit Zack Snyder’s version, as well as HBO’s limited series sequel to the original graphic novel, you can use that Max subscription of yours to indulge in some unforgettable nostalgia.
Source: IGN, CinemaBlend
