The Big Picture
- Warner Bros. Animation brings the iconic Watchmen story to life with a unique visual style in upcoming animated movies.
- A terrible crime in New York City sets the stage for a larger conspiracy involving costumed vigilantes like Rorschach and Doctor Manhattan.
- The legacy of Watchmen continues to expand with the animated adaptation, following a successful HBO television series set in a different timeline.
One of the most acclaimed comic book stories of all time will come to life once again, with Warner Bros. Animation launching the first trailer for their upcoming Watchmen movies. The classic story created by Alan Moore, Dave Gibbons and John Higgins has seen some adaptations trying to provide their own take on these characters before, but the upcoming animated Watchmen movies have developed a unique visual style to stand out on their own. A terrible crime has taken place in the dark streets of New York City, and the killer must be found before the consequences of their actions lead to a bigger catastrophe.
A release date for the first part of Watchmen animated adaptation hasn’t been confirmed yet, but the movie will premiere at some point later this year. The trailer shows audiences how some of the most iconic panels from the graphic novel will be depicted in the movies, as well as providing a reminder of the political landscape that burdened characters such as Rorschach, Doctor Manhattan and The Comedian. In a reality where the United States holds an incredible amount of power over the rest of the world thanks to the existence of Doctor Manhattan, Rorschach must find out if The Comedian’s death is connected to a larger conspiracy meant to take down costumed vigilantes.
Watchmen was previously adapted as a live-action movie directed by Zack Snyder, with Malin Åkerman, Billy Crudup, Matthew Goode and Jackie Earle Haley as part of the cast. The movie went on to gross $187 million at the global box office, and while it might’ve been a commercial failure, the legacy of the graphic novel has continued to expand since the project’s release. The animated Watchmen adaptation was announced during last year’s edition of the San Diego Comic-Con, with the new trailer being launched during this year’s edition of the Annecy International Animation Film Festival.
‘Watchmen’s Successful Television Run
Years before the animated Watchmen movies were announced, the property spawned a successful HBO television series. Set decades after the events of the comic books, the project followed Sister Night (Regina King), a police officer who had to take matters into her own hands after a terrorist group placed a target on the people she worked with. The upcoming animated Watchmen movies are yet another proof of how Moore, Gibbons and Higgins work remains relevant to this day. Hopefully, the studio behind Justice League: Crisis on Infinite Earths and Batman: The Doom That Came to Gotham will deliver a version of this story that can be embraced by the comic’s devoted fan base.
You can check out the new trailer for the Watchmen animated movies below, before the first part debuts later this year:
Watchmen
Set in an alternate history where masked vigilantes are treated as outlaws, Watchmen embraces the nostalgia of the original groundbreaking graphic novel of the same name, while attempting to break new ground of its own.
Release Date
December 15, 2019
Creator
Damon Lindelof
, Don Johnson
, Tim Blake Nelson
, Yahya Abdul-Mateen II
, Andrew Howard
, Jacob Ming-Trent
, Tom Mison
, Sara Vickers
, Dylan Schombing
, Louis Gossett Jr.
, Jeremy Irons
, Jean Smart
, Hong Chau
Main Genre
Crime
Creator(s)
Damon Lindelof
