The trailer for the long-awaited Watchmen Chapter 1 was recently released. The film will serve as a more thorough, comic-accurate adaptation of the original comic. With several other adaptations of the same classic to compete against, many moviegoers are likely wondering why they should care about this particular film.
To many comic book nerds, this is a momentous occasion, as Watchmen remains one of the most influential entries in the superhero genre for how it thoroughly deconstructed the major ideas of the genre. Here is a breakdown of why Watchmen Chapter 1’s announcement should be a cause for celebration.
What Is Watchmen Chapter 1?
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According to FirstShowing.net, the latest trailer for the upcoming Watchmen Chapter 1 was released. This series will be the newest adaptation of Alan Moore’s iconic comic Watchmen. As the title implies, this will be the first half of the adaptation, and the series will use its added length to adapt the iconic comic fully. This first act will follow the beginning of the investigation into the murder muster at the heart of the story, introducing its pantheon of “heroes.” As with the Snyder film, the films will be a co-production between Warner Bros and Paramount.
Watchmen Chapter 1’s art style heavily resembles Marvel’s What If, with its smooth 3D models. The film will be available digitally on August 13, while chapter 2 will be released later this year. Cast members include Titus Welliver as Rorschach, Matthew Rhys as Nite Owl, Troy Baker as Ozymandias, and Jeffrey Combs as Moloch. For those curious as to whether the adaptation will pull any punches, don’t worry; the trailer came with an R-rating and a red band.
Alan Moore’s Original Comic
For those unaware, Watchmen began as a 1986 comic by famed author Alan Moore. The story follows a disbanded team of superheroes investigating the murder of one of their comrades, The Comedian. Along the way, Moore explores several other sociological and philosophical questions, examining how good superheroes would be in the real world battling real-world social issues.
Watchmen became an iconic superhero franchise, spawning a huge fandom and countless adaptations. Zack Snyder’s 2009 film adaptation was the most well-known one and received favorable reviews. As usual with the director, the film received a 3-hour “Snyder Cut” shortly after.
The next major adaptation was the 2019 HBO adaptation of the same name. Led by The Boondocks star Regina King, the story was a sequel to the original comic that explored different social issues and asked different questions. In between, the story received several motion comic adaptations. As such, Watchmen Chapter 1 will have to work hard to stand up to these other adaptations.
How the Franchise Flipped the Superhero Genre
While the original comic was successful, it opened the floodgates for more stories deconstructing the ideas of the superhero genre. The story was set during the height of the Cold War, and thus, it was given plenty of opportunities to examine superheroes more realistically. This writing style influenced DC with later films like Nolan’s The Dark Knight or Snyder’s own Man of Steel.
Since then, many other works have dismantled the genre, especially since the MCU took over. The most prominent example is Garth Ennis’ much grizzlier The Boys, later adapted into a far more acclaimed series on Prime Video. The comic also inspired more optimistic works, such as Pixar’s genre reconstruction, The Incredibles. In our current pop culture landscape, a new adaptation of Watchmen will fit right in.
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