Hollywood circled around Alan Moore’s watershed graphic novel Watchmen since it’s publication in 1986. Attracted by the kinetic visual style and undeterred by the unwieldy length and political overtones, what seemed like a surefire hit has travelled a crooked road to the silver screen.
Watchmen Timeline
1986—Lawrence Gordon acquires the film rights for Watchmen and sets up production at 20th Century Fox. After Alan Moore declines an offer to adapt the 400-page opus, Gordon hires screenwriter Sam Hamm (Batman).
1988—Sam Hamm turns in a draft that streamlines the storyline and rewrites the ending to include an assassination and time paradox.
1991—Fox places the project in turnaround due to budgetary concerns. Lawrence Gordon pays Fox for the option to set up the film at another studio.
1991—Lawrence Gordon and Joel Silver partner with Warner Brothers and hire Terry Gilliam (12 Monkeys) to adapt the graphic novel. Dissatisfied with Hamm’s attempt, Gilliam hires long-time collaborator Charles McKeown (The Imaginarium of Dr. Parnassus) to flesh out the characters from Moore’s novel that did not survive Hamm’s effort to make the story more manageable
The Long Drought
1991-2001—Gilliam struggles with this adaptation for over a decade, in amongst other films of his that are made (The Fisher King, Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas) and those that are not (an adaptation of Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett’s Good Omens, The Man Who Killed Don Quixote). Once again, the concern over budget is the culprit for stalled production.
During this time, many stars express interest in the film and results in a casting parlor game that is popular amongst Hollywood insiders and comic book fanboys alike: Robin Williams, Gary Busey, Jamie Lee Curtis, Richard Gere, Kevin Costner and Keanu Reeves are all linked to the film at one time or another.
Gilliam abandons the project when the producers cannot raise the necessary budget. Warner Brothers subsequently opts out of the project.
2001—Lawrence Gordon sets up the project at Universal Studios and hires David Hayter (X-Men, X2: X-Men United) to pen a fresh adaption and direct. He removes the story from its setting in an alternate America in 1986 and places in contemporary times.
2002—Hayter turns in his draft and producer Lloyd Levin claims that “absolutely celebrates the book".
2003—Gordon and Levin depart from Universal Studios over creative differences. They eye Revolution Studios as the new home of Watchmen, after their success with Hellboy.
2004—Paramount Pictures announces they will produce Watchmen with a target release date of summer 2006. Darren Aronofsky (Pi, Requiem for a Dream) joins the production to direct David Hayter’s script. However, faced with production troubles on his own film The Fountain, Aronofsky leaves and is replaced by Paul Greengrass (United 93, Bourne Ultimatum).
The casting parlor game continues, now with names such as Tom Cruise, Jude Law, Daniel Craig, Sigourney Weaver and Simon Pegg attached.
A shake-up at Paramount’s corporate level clears out supporters of Watchmen and leaves nothing but budget concerns. The project is put into turn around.
2005—Gordon and Levin once again partner with Warner Brothers.
Watchmen Trailer Released Summer 2008
2007—Zack Snyder’s film adaptation of Frank Miller’s 300 is released to great acclaim and strong box office. Gordon and Levin hire Snyder to direct Watchmen. He agrees and hires Alex Tse (Sucker Free City) to write a new draft, returning to the original 1986 setting.
2008--a trailer for Watchmen is released in the summer of 2008 almost a full year before its March 2009 release date. Reaction to the footage is universally good and, despite a twenty year wait, fans hunger to see the Watchmen save the world on screen.
