Editorials > The Idiot's Guide to the Watchmen Adaptation

Okay, you don't know what Watchmen is. The previous newspost confused you. It's all right. That's why we're here.

Watchmen, written by Alan Moore (who also wrote V for Vendetta and The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, which were both very good before they were turned into movies), is one of the best graphic novels ever written. Ever. Maybe one of the best works of literature written in the past 30 years. It's extremely epic in scope, powerful in emotion, and it doesn't pull any punches. Various attempts have been made to adapt it to the big screen for the last twenty years (at one point, Terry Gilliam was slated to direct, at another, Darren Aronofsky). 

Now, Zack Snyder, director of the Dawn of the Dead remake and the upcoming 300 adaptation, says he's going to jump straight into Watchmen preproduction after 300 is released. Based on these three interviews, here's what to expect: 

-It won't be as long as the book.

As said before, Watchmen is really damn epic. In order to include EVERYTHING, you'd literally have to make a miniseries. Snyder says that he'll probably make a theatrical version of reasonable length, and then release an extended, 3-hour edition on DVD. Large elements of the story will most likely have to go missing, including a large subplot involving a pirate story, The Black Freighter, which directly parallels the events of the main plot. This will be one movie, and not a film series, so Snyder will have his work cut out for him.

-There will be some CGI.

Probably not on a level comparable to 300 or Sin City, but it'll be there. Not that surprising, considering some of the things in the comic book (one godlike character visits Mars at one point, for example).

-It will be set in 1985, just like in the original novel.

This is fantastic news, considering many of the writers and directors who were previously attached to the project talked about "updating it for the post-9/11 world," or some crap like that. The book's themes are pretty much universal but work well in the context of an alternate-reality 1985, so it's great to hear that Snyder won't be setting it in 2010 or something.

As for right now, that's all we know. No actors have been cast, no release date has been set, nothing. Technically speaking, this version of Watchmen has just as much of a chance of falling through as the other versions, so keep your eyes peeled.