We first got word that Warner Bros. Animation and DC Studios were developing an animated feature based on Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons' iconic graphic novel, Watchmen, last year during SDCC, and the first teaser trailer has now been released online.
The two-part event movie utilizes CG animation style, with part 1 set to debut later this year and part 2 at some point in 2025. The project has been described as "a leap forward for our DC Cinematic Animation."
The trailer teases some key moments from the story that are sure to be familiar to fans of the comic - and Zack Snyder's live-action adaptation! There's no getting away from the fact that this looks a lot like the 2009 movie, which, to be fair, did also recreate numerous panels from the page.
The footage gives us glimpses of most of the main characters, including The Comedian, Doctor Manhattan, Silk Spectre, Nite Owl, and Rorschach, who - as he does in the comic - provides the narration.
In a somewhat unusual move, the trailer has been released before the creative team and voice cast were announced, but we'll be sure to update as soon as WB shares the details.
Check out the trailer at the link below, and let us know what you think in the comments section.
"Watchmen is set in an alternate reality that closely mirrors the contemporary world of the 1980s. The primary difference is the presence of superheroes. The point of divergence occurs in the year 1938. Their existence in this version of the United States is shown to have dramatically affected and altered the outcomes of real-world events such as the Vietnam War and the presidency of Richard Nixon. In keeping with the realism of the series, although the costumed crimefighters of Watchmen are commonly called "superheroes", only one, named Doctor Manhattan, possesses any superhuman abilities.
The war in Vietnam ends with an American victory in 1971 and Nixon is still president as of October 1985 upon the repeal of term limits and the Watergate scandal not coming to pass. The Soviet invasion of Afghanistan occurs approximately six years later than in real life. When the story begins, the existence of Doctor Manhattan has given the U.S. a strategic advantage over the Soviet Union, which has dramatically increased Cold War tensions. Eventually, by 1977, superheroes grow unpopular among the police and the public, leading them to be outlawed with the passage of the Keene Act.
While many of the heroes retired, Doctor Manhattan and another superhero, known as The Comedian, operate as government-sanctioned agents. Another named Rorschach continues to operate outside the law."