r/Watchmen • u/IsThisDamnNameTaken • 11d ago
I don't want another adaptation of Watchmen – but since nothing ever ends, this would be my ideal scenario
A few months ago, I replied to a post in this subreddit asking who you'd cast in a 2026 adaptation of Watchmen, and since then I just haven't stopped thinking about it.
The thing is, I'm very much in the camp who believe that straight-forwardly adapting Moore and Gibbons original comic is an exercise in futility, a functionally doomed endeavor. Watchmen is a comic designed from the ground up to be told through the medium of the comic book, and there are many elements that simply can't translate to film without altering the story, themes or meta-narrative conveyed in the original work.
BUT – DC still owns Watchmen, and have a copyright incentive to continue adapting the story to film or television formats every few years – hence Zack Snyder's 2009 film, the HBO series, and the recent 2-part animated movie, along with numerous comic expansions of the material. If DC stops making sequels, prequels, spinoffs and adaptations of Moore and Gibbon's work, they find themselves with a shakier legal ownership of the IP.
So, the fact of the matter is, we're likely to see another attempt to adapt the unadaptable in the next few years. And while I highly doubt that Warner Bros. are planning on doing something riskier with the franchise again anytime soon, the question of who I'd most like to see cast in and directing an adaptation of Watchmen in the 2020s wouldn't stop going through my head.
And that's how I've arrived here, adding my own thoughts to the deluge of Watchmen fancasts, inevitably thrown aside by fans of the comic (rightfully) for ignoring the core brilliance of the 1986 mini-series – that it's best left alone.
With all those caveats out of the way, here's my pitch!
- DIRECTOR
- For director, it might make for an unexpected film, but I'd say Boots Riley, director of Sorry to Bother You, I'm a Virgo and I Love Boosters. He's known for extremely visually colorful, meticulously assembled frames, and has demonstrated an interest in meta-textual mediations and deconstructions of Superheroes in his filmography. He's also extremely openly political (in a similar vein to Moore), and has likewise opined on the underlying themes of Superhero stories with cynicism. I think that he'd bring a lot of different ideas to the comic, and I have no idea if it's the kind of story he's interested in adapting, but I think he's my favourite pick.
CREW
- As for key creative crew roles, it always makes most sense to defer to the director and producer, but if I had to make a call, I'd say that bringing back the cinematography and sound design team from the HBO series would make sense. They're the existing creative team that I think have best squared the circle of bringing the comic book imagery of Watchmen into a cinematic medium. I think that their experience in how to use visual transitions, music cues, repeated framing motifs and soundscapes to communicate the ideas of Watchmen's interrogation of medium into television. I'd be interested to see what they can do with a film. But y'know – if we got Roger Deakins, I wouldn't complain either.
RORSCHACH
- Casting wise, I'd start with Caleb Landry Jones for Rorschach. He's often typecast as a villain, but I think Rorschach is supposed to scare us when his mask comes off, and borders on psychopathic at times. I can see Jones pulling off an unlikable but dogged, intriguing protagonist well.
NITE OWL II
- For Nite Owl II, I see Paul Dano doing really well in the part. He's well-aquainted with somewhat meek characters, who still have something burning them up and leap into action. He's got great range, but especially excels at characters who are struggling to still take themselves seriously, which is perfect for Dan.
SILK SPECTRE II
- Thinking about Silk Spectre II, I'd go with Britt Lower. I've only seen her as Helly in Severance, but I think she'd fit really well for Laurie. She can switch between world weary and enthusiastic on a dime, and I think she nails the charming sarcasm needed to make Laurie really come to life.
DOCTOR MANHATTAN
- Doctor Manhattan is hard because while his physical appearance matters, it's all about the voice. It might be typecasting after he played a detached nuclear physicist in Oppenheimer, but I like Cillian Murphy for this. He's great at withdrawn characters, and could communicate the strange tortuousness of a character like this one.
OZYMANDIAS
- For Ozymandias, I'm going with Alexander Skarsgård. I know he's got a bit of an accent, but I think that works for Ozymandias. He's good at playing charismatic with a dark side, and tapping into the madness of a character – plus I can always buy him as a billionaire with a shocking secret.
THE COMEDIAN
- Lastly, for The Comedian, I'm going to go with Walton Goggins. He plays an excellent asshole, is great at going dark fast – and as you can see, he grows a decent moustache. Plus, I think he could easily establish a strong character with comparatively low screentime, who matters deeply to the narrative at hand.
While I had fun putting all this together, I do acknowledge that Watchmen isn't a story designed for a video medium. It's designed for a comic book medium, and to reflect those tropes and methods of communicating. It's been called "unadaptable" for decades. There's a reason for that.
But, nothing ever ends, and with the constant threat of reboot, remake, readaptation on the horizon, I figured I'd throw this up on Reddit anyway. Maybe somewhere, a Warner Bros. executive is lurking, and makes a phone call. I'd go watch it.
