Well, to all those out there assuming there was no hope for the long-gestating graphic novel (12 issue comic book) adaptation of Alan Moore’s Watchmen guess again. Those scoopers over at Ain’t It Cool News scored quite the scoop as they have learned that Zack Snyder has entered negotiations with Warner Bros. to helm the feature adaptation.
The news came to AICN via a visit to the editing room of the new Warner Bros. film 300, directed by Snyder in which they noticed a copy of the Watchmen graphic novel sitting on the desk of his office. After a bit of speculation the news was confirmed as they contacted WB.
Snyder is a positive choice considering he had a successful film debut with the 2004 remake of Dawn of the Dead and is currently putting his final touches on another graphic novel adaptation, that of the previous mentioned 300, which was created by Frank Miller of Sin City fame.
Watchmen would certainly be a massive undertaking considering the following and the monstrous amount of characters and a quote by Snyder at AICN says it all, “If I screw up 300, that would be heartbreaking, but ultimately, it’s not as well known a property. If you get Watchmen wrong… well…”
The story is set in a time when super-heroes are banned, one group of super-humans must work together to save a doomed Earth from a mysterious force. But the question still remains, “Who Watches the Watchmen?”
Paul Greengrass (Bourne Supremacy and United 93) was aboard to direct the project when Paramount was housing the pic, but that all fell apart and here we are. Hopefully more news will come soon as I have already fallen in love with Moore’s work thanks to V for Vendetta. This new fad of tackling graphic novels over comic series is a serious step in the right direction.
