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The Dr. Manhattan Project: 'Watchmen' Actor Discusses Why There Wasn't A Sequel

Say what you want about Zack Snyder's stoic superhero whodunnit, but you will undoubtedly find 2009's Watchmen either criminally overrated or equally underrated.

By Tom ChapmanPublished 6 years ago 3 min read
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'Watchmen' [Credit: HBO]

Say what you want about Zack Snyder's stoic superhero whodunnit, but you will undoubtedly find 2009's Watchmen either criminally overrated or equally underrated. Rarely has a film divided audiences as much as the big screen adaptation of Alan Moore's acclaimed graphic novel, the story of a troop of unhinged vigilantes did just that.

With Warner Bros. delivering a faithful adaptation of 1986's original text, there is no denying that the potential was there to keep on expanding the world of the #Watchmen. However, as the credits rolled, it seems that so did Warner Bros.' relationship with the franchise.

Who watches the Watchmen?

Moore and artist Dave Gibbons have since delivered prequel series Before Watchmen — which focuses on the lives of the original Minutemen — while DC comics has slowly started introducing the likes of Dr. Manhattan into their "Rebirth" universe. Couple this with HBO's renewed interest in a Watchmen TV series, and all of this points to the perfect time to rewind the Doomsday clock and send the Watchmen crashing back into cinemas.

However, speaking to Cinema Blend, #JackieEarleHaley revealed why the watch stopped for the Watchmen and why it will probably stop ticking for some time to come:

"I wish they would have gone on. You know, I think they probably would have gone on and done more films with Watchmen, different versions of it, because I think there was enough success that they could have gone back in time or done something with it. But I think the thing that really kind of held it up was the fact that there was this contention of ownership between Warner Bros and Paramount."

As a recap, Paramount had owned the rights to Watchmen for years, but were forced to float it and put the project into turnaround. Warner Bros. was the lucky studio that nabbed the franchise but not without having to broker a deal with Paramount — although Warner Bros. got all the domestic distribution, Paramount still retained the international rights.

It was a shrewd move on Paramount's behalf, but it also came atop another dispute between Warner Bros. and Fox. Fox tried to block Watchmen ever being released thanks to a failed buy-out by producer Lawrence Gordon when they had been developing a movie back in 1991. Thankfully, Fox never got its way, but you can't blame Warner Bros. for feeling that it had its fingers burned.

Watch and Listen

It is hard to pinpoint what went wrong between the graphic novel and the silver screen, but for many #ZackSnyder's version just failed to live up to the hype surrounding Moore's work. However, what makes Watchmen so inspiring (as both a graphic novel and a movie) is that most of the characters are just everyday Joe's fighting for the greater good. Apart from the glowing Dr. Manhattan and the super-smart Ozymandias, the entire ensemble could probably be your next door neighbor and you would never know. The Minutemen and the Watchmen could laugh and they could cry, they could live and they could definitely die, and it made them altogether more relatable.

Alongside the amazing artwork of Gibbons, Moore's graphic novel is heralded as one of the best pieces to ever come from the world of comic books. Chances are, if you haven't heard of Watchmen in some sort of form, you probably haven't been paying attention for the past 31 years.

Nevertheless, it is a tragic state of affairs that we will never get to see a fully realized sequel/prequel. Although Watchmen is clearly moving forward in some form, it almost certainly won't be under the Snyder umbrella. Given that Haley was an almost perfect representation of Rorschach — a psychologist's worst nightmare — it is a kick to the crotch to know that he also probably won't get another shot at joining the dysfunctional team of antiheroes.

(Source: Cinema Blend)

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About the Creator

Tom Chapman

Tom is a Manchester-based writer with square eyes and the love of a good pun. Raised on a diet of Jurassic Park, this ’90s boy has VHS flowing in his blood. No topic is too big for this freelancer by day, crime-fighting vigilante by night.

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