After several decades of simply being known as a critically acclaimed 12-issue comic book miniseries, Watchmen made its first foray into other media when Zack Snyder’s film adaptation hit theaters in 2009. 10 years later, HBO released its Watchmen TV series (which can be streamed with a Max subscription), though rather than being another adaptation of the original story, it served as a sequel to the comic book series instead of Snyder’s movie. Now Watchmen is getting the animated film treatment, and while the exciting first trailer for this new spin on Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons’ superhero tale for the upcoming DC movies slate has arrived, there’s also a big concern on my mind.
The First Look At The Animated Watchmen
10 months after this Watchmen adaptation was announced at San Diego Comic-Con, Warner Bros. Entertainment has released the following preview for what is now a two-movie affair rather than just one. Take a look:
As you can see, computer generated animation is being utilized that’s reminiscent of what was used in Batman and Superman: Battle of the Super Sons, but still looks quite visually distinctive. I’m also relieved to hear that this latest take on Watchmen will be spread out across two movies. Zack Snyder already tried his hand at squeezing Watchmen into one runtime, with the final result earning mixed reviews from critics, though his director’s cut was better received. Taking into account how DC’s direct-to-video movies usually clock in at 90-100 minutes, it’s good to hear that now there will be over three hours of real estate to work with, though inevitably certain plot elements from the original story will still be left out.
Why Watchmen Has Me Concerned About DC’s Future
While I’m still skeptical about how well these animated Watchmen movies will adapt this source material that’s loved by so many, that’s not what’s chiefly weighing on my mind at the moment. You see, Watchmen is part of the DC Universe Animated Original Movies line, which launched in 2007 with Superman: Doomsday and comprises both standalone flicks and ones taking place in shared universes like the DC Animated Movie Universe timeline and the Tomorrowverse timeline. The latter will conclude in July with Justice League: Crisis on Infinite Earths — Part Three, and these Watchmen movies are the only direct-to-video DC movies set for release afterwards.
Now granted, San Diego Comic-Con 2024 happens next month, so it’s possible that some new movies from this line could be announced, and perhaps even a new shared universe too. However, I’m worried that Watchmen could be the final hurrah for the DC Universe Animated Original Movies. DC animation as a whole isn’t going anywhere, as Harley Quinn and the upcoming Kite-Man: Hell Yeah! are still among the lineup of Max shows, and it was reported in February by Jeff Sneider that a theatrical Jurassic League movie is in the works.
Let’s also not forget though that DC Studios heads James Gunn and Peter Safran are overseeing the new DC shared universe, with its Chapter One - Gods and Monsters slate launching in December with the Creature Commandos animated series, and then the Superman movie Gunn is directing next July. While there will still be DC projects released that aren’t set in the DCU, i.e. under the Elseworlds banner, like the aforementioned Max shows, Joker: Folie à Deux and The Batman: Part II, but given how the DC Universe Animated Original Movies are smaller scale projects and how much the DCU is (understandably) being prioritized, perhaps this era of DC entertainment is gearing up to be shuttered.
I hope this isn’t the case, as these direct-to-video movies all creators to tackle storylines and characters that either stand little chance of being used in a theatrical movie, or handle them in a more faithful manner. Hopefully this year’s SDCC will clear this up one way or another. Until then, keep an eye out for Watchmen: Chapter I’s release later on in 2024, and head over to Max to view the DC movies in order.
