ROTTEN TOMATOES: Watchmen Spinoffs Heading to DVD?

Watchmen Spinoffs Heading to DVD?

CHUD sets fanboy hearts aquiver.

by Jeff Giles | November 21, 2007

As any comics fan could tell you -- at high volume, and possibly a few tears -- the bar for comics-to-film adaptations has been set painfully low. Hopes for Zack Snyder's Watchmen are high, however -- and if the latest gossip from CHUD is on target, that optimism could be justified.

According to CHUD's sources, plans are under way to help retain much of the graphic novel's subtext -- if not in the film itself, then through a pair of intriguing spinoff projects. Watchmen readers will no doubt recall Tales of the Black Freighter, the comic-within-a-comic whose installments help provide a sort of indirect running commentary on what's happening in the main story. Given Freighter's tangential relationship to the storyline, it's always been assumed that those segments would be cut from the film.

They're still not in the main film -- but they might be spun off into an animated (possibly "300-style," as Snyder suggested to CHUD) feature that would be released on DVD when Watchmen hits theaters. And that isn't all. Without getting into too much detail, one of the graphic novel's characters (the Golden Age Nite Owl) published a memoir, excerpts from which bookend Watchmen's chapters -- and according to CHUD's sources, the filmmakers are preparing a mock early '60s interview appearance with Nite Owl, also to be released on DVD.

Warner Bros., of course, has no official comment -- but at the very least, these rumors provide a novel approach for anyone trying to stuff a graphic novel into a film. For more on the story, click on the link below!

Source: CHUD

Related Items

Celeb:

Zack Snyder

(1-13 of 13 posts) | Reply

mouse_clicker writes:
on Nov 21 2007 11:00 AM

Zack Snyder continues to impress me in every facet of his handling of this movie. I had my doubts initially, but to say they're all dispelled by this point is an understatement.

This would be great publicity for the movie as well as a great way for people to get some more insight into the graphic novel's themes without having the actual film's pace ruined for it.

-Moses

(Reply to this)

Ender7406 writes:
on Nov 21 2007 11:01 AM

YES. THIS is the way you market the complex machine that is Watchmen.

(Reply to this)

EdwardBlake writes:
on Nov 21 2007 11:07 AM

Actually a good idea. 'Watchmen' had a very multimedia feel to it when read. Besides the Black Freighter 'comic-in-comic,' there were newspaper clippings and letters from Silk Spectre I, Rorschach's medical files, an interview transcript from Veidt etc. etc. So this, properly executed, could be very much in the Watchmen spirit.

I imagine the Nite Owl they mention will be Nite Owl I, not II. Providing background on the Comedian's expulsion

(Reply to this)

Daniel Aaron writes:
on Nov 21 2007 12:23 PM

Lame. this was my thought from the begining yeah they will do it but the only way you can do it right is a a two picture deal coming in at about three hours each other than that it will be a brief overview of the book itself which this looks like it is going to be so no one will really get the whole story which makes it well...dumb. They will have Manhattan they will show Mars they will show the end. But what made the watchmen so great is there was so much going on underneath the surface well you would have to have read it at least twice to understand what i mean. Anyone who tries to feed you crap about the black frieghter not being part of the story is just trying to save his a--$$$ make a buck and snowball you and never read it other than a breif overview at a production meeting were they were "getting ready to talk about our next comic book movie". Personelly i think it could mantain three films with ease more than enough source material and if you did it line for line it would blow people away like it did the comic crowd years ago and today. But they wont we will get a cliff note version with some cool efx's and huge story gaps which in the end will make it somthing other than what it is. (personelly i still dont know what its was or is..I guess it just is...a great story if you havent read it turn off your computer now and get it). Three thing i will force my son or daughter to do growing up. 1. Listen to my Bob Marley collection. 2. read their bible and come with me to church on sunday and help those in need during the week and realize how blessed by the lord they are and hopefully instill those seeds in them so they will want to help other when they are older rather than go to "T.J." and get drunk. 3.I will give them a copy of the Dark Knight Returns, The Killing Joke, and The Watchmen. at age appropriate times.

(Reply to this)

I Am Remote writes:
on Nov 21 2007 08:46 PM

however much Watchmen fans like this idea, the film has to stand by itself. It's a lot of material to cover, yeah, but at the end of the day, most people seeing this movie will be going in cold. Not a lot of fans want to or expect to have to watch this dvd, that dvd, this webcast, that blog or whatever the marketing strategy turns to out to be. I'm not saying they can't do this, but if it ends up with a lot of fanboys yelling at fans that "they should have read that and watched this" to "get" the movie, it'll be a sorry day for popular filmmaking.

(Reply to this)

lestatthevampire writes:
on Nov 22 2007 06:52 AM

Is nothing sacred anymore?
Happy Thanksgiving!

(Reply to this)

Callpacas writes:
on Nov 22 2007 09:49 AM

300 style------ what about Watchmen style. What's so fascinating about the 300 style, other than the film made a huge amount of money, which is severely disproportionate to its quality.

(Reply to this)

EdwardBlake writes:
on Nov 22 2007 03:37 PM

I think he meant filming it with heavy blue screen like 300 did, so that it is set apart from the 'reality' of the movie.

300, while disappointing somewhat as far as dialogue and pace (Frank Miller might deserve some of the blame), was without a doubt the most visually impressive movie of 2007.

(Reply to this)

the-russian writes:
on Nov 23 2007 09:48 AM

At least they're admitting that they can't fit it all into one movie (or so it sounds), and they're trying something new to remedy it.

And I wouldn't be so sure that it WOULDN'T work; if they market it right, they could get a lot of people in on this, simply because 300 was so huge, and people will be pumped for Snyder's next one; pumped enough that they might go buy or rent an extra DVD that coincides w/ the film.

(Reply to this)

Poncho_E writes:
on Nov 23 2007 05:06 PM

In reply to this comment (#1294124)
It's "Watchmen" not "The Watchmen"...dumb ***

(Reply to this)

Bondesque writes:
on Nov 23 2007 07:40 PM

Firstly. . .300 is special (to callpacas). it represents a big leap in moviemaking becaue it takes greenscreen to perfection. the cinematography was astounding. sure it was short on story but it was one of those movies meant to be watched on screens. it's like a ride, you care about the whole experience and not the quality of the seats. . . if you get my meaning. secondly, there are movies meant to be adapted into film and there are others that can't be adapted into film. watchmen is the latter kind. unless they make it highbrow it is going to suck ***. becaue the budget is over 100 million and with marketing it'll be over 150 million. so they'll have to satisfy the lowest common denominators to make a profit ( which is what movies are all about) and the result will be a sterilised version for dummies. on the other hand, they have some good talent and are not picking people off a formula-checklist. they casted people who made some little seen yet meaningful movies (billy cudrup). but i am skeptical about if they can pull it off.

(Reply to this)

I Am Remote writes:
on Nov 24 2007 02:23 PM

Watchmen shouldn't look like 300. Watchen should look more noir-ish, like Blade Runner or something. It's more suspense and intrigue than big action sequences.

(Reply to this)

zeldy345 writes:
on Nov 25 2007 11:45 AM

i agree with " i am remote" Watchmen should have a film noir approach...its such a "mess" of varying view points that the screen adaption will have one or two characers that are fleshed out and the rest will be cardboard cutouts, thus another mediocre "graphic novel-based film"...however, if you took the noir approach, the plot could simply follow the path and mindset of Rorschach and it would be okay if the other characters were set in absolutes...because thats how he thinks lol
It's irritating to watch these films and have too many characters thrown at you...it damages the plot, the audience's understanding of the characters, and the flow of the entire film (spiderman 3, x-men, the exception is Sin City)...these characters have a large history and its better to write a lot about a little, than it is to write a little about a lot...if that makes sense lol lol

(Reply to this)

RottenTomatoes.com