# Watchman movie cancelled **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [June 8, 2005, 5:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/watchman-movie-cancelled/307473 "2005-06-08T17:16:18Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 11\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![vibrotronica](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/a9a28c/32.png) [@vibrotronica](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vibrotronica)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2005, 5:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/watchman-movie-cancelled/307473/1 "2005-06-08T17:16:18Z")
[This just in](http://www.scifi.com/scifiwire2005/index.php?category=0&id=31145), the on-again/off-again _Watchman_ movie is off again. Whaddaya think? Bad thing, evidence of corporate cowardice, indifferent, or dodged bullet? Me, I think HBO or Showtime should make an animated miniseries of the comic with Terry Gilliam directing. But that’s just me. ---
**Author:** ![Scumpup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ce73a5/32.png) [@Scumpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scumpup)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2005, 5:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/watchman-movie-cancelled/307473/2 "2005-06-08T17:20:00Z")
Good. ---
**Author:** ![brianjedi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/3be4f8/32.png) [@brianjedi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/brianjedi)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2005, 5:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/watchman-movie-cancelled/307473/3 "2005-06-08T17:24:38Z")
I don’t think Watchmen can or should be done as a movie/miniseries. For one thing, it, along with The Dark Knight Returns, are very 80s/Cold War based, and I don’t know if that’s going to capture the audience these days like it did back then. Secondly, there’s a LOT of material that would have to be condensed, even into a miniseries. Unless someone wants to do a 10+ hour series, I don’t think you could truly adapt it. Third, there are a lot of comics/properties I’d rather see as films before Watchmen. Green Lantern and a JLA movie being first and second. ---
**Author:** ![Cisco](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ccd318/32.png) [@Cisco](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cisco)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2005, 5:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/watchman-movie-cancelled/307473/4 "2005-06-08T17:39:49Z")
Dodged bullet. Watchmen, along with a few other on again off again comic book movies _cough **Preacher** cough_ are simply to big to condense down to a 2 (or even 3) hour movie, assuming they could even be adapted to film in the first place (I’m thinking they really couldn’t.) ---
**Author:** ![Mockingbird](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c68b51/32.png) [@Mockingbird](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mockingbird)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2005, 5:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/watchman-movie-cancelled/307473/5 "2005-06-08T17:45:49Z")
Good. Hollywood would have fucked it up. ---
**Author:** ![Hey\_It\_s\_That\_Guy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/6f9a4e/32.png) [@Hey\_It\_s\_That\_Guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hey_It_s_That_Guy)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2005, 5:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/watchman-movie-cancelled/307473/6 "2005-06-08T17:55:41Z")
One more vote for “just as well.” I’d much rather see movies of Starman, Sleeper, Sandman Mystery Theatre, The Question, Wildcats, Grendel (Hunter Rose only, please), Preacher, Transmetropolitan, Gambit, The Spirit, Mister Miracle, Phantom Lady, Justice League International, or Moon Knight than Watchmen. ---
**Author:** ![Finagle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/b19c9b/32.png) [@Finagle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Finagle)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2005, 6:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/watchman-movie-cancelled/307473/7 "2005-06-08T18:03:57Z")
I just read the graphic novel a short time ago, and while I agree that it was very well done, it seems like a movie would be a tremendous upstream swim. It’s a completely “made-up” hero universe, composed mostly of anti-heroes and unsympathetic characters, so the audience who goes in primed for a “Spiderman” is going to be unpleasantly surprised. And it’s dark, dark, dark – not an easy sell for a genre that’s usually escapist (although I guess Sin City got away with it.) ---
**Author:** ![vibrotronica](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/a9a28c/32.png) [@vibrotronica](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vibrotronica)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2005, 6:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/watchman-movie-cancelled/307473/8 "2005-06-08T18:13:46Z")
_Sin City_ convinced me that _Watchmen_ could be done, if given enough thought and time. Maybe they should let Rodriguz have a crack at it. ---
**Author:** ![Max\_Carnage](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/max_carnage/32/12775_2.png) [@Max\_Carnage](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Max_Carnage)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2005, 9:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/watchman-movie-cancelled/307473/9 "2005-06-08T21:08:13Z")
It’s not “cancelled” so much as Paramount passed on it. The writers/producers have other studios in mind. Doesn’t mean it’s dead at all. ---
**Author:** ![FlyingDragonFan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/c89c15/32.png) [@FlyingDragonFan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FlyingDragonFan)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2005, 12:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/watchman-movie-cancelled/307473/10 "2005-06-09T00:32:28Z")
> [@vibrotronica](#): > > _Sin City_ convinced me that _Watchmen_ could be done, if given enough thought and time. Maybe they should let Rodriguz have a crack at it. Oh god please no. ---
**Author:** ![Askia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/96bed5/32.png) [@Askia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Askia)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2005, 1:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/watchman-movie-cancelled/307473/11 "2005-06-09T01:03:27Z")
I’m not interested in any WATCHMEN adaptation that’s less than a 12 hour television miniseries. In some alternate universe J.J. Abrams has already done this to brilliant acclaim.