A live-action film adaptation of Watchmen hit screens in 2009. Eight years later, it seems very likely that an animated version of the classic superhero story is on its way.
A report on CBR contains an image from a survey hosted on Warner Brothers A-List, a community site run by the movie studio. It makes reference to an upcoming Watchmen movie.
Text in the survey image says that the movie will be “executed in an animation style that mirrors the source material” and notes an anticipated R-rating for the project. The information in the image was also cited in a tip about the survey sent to io9.
Originally released in 1986, Watchmen was written and drawn by legendary creators Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons, with colors by John Higgins. With literary sensibility and psychological complexity, it went on to become regarded as a classic in the superhero genre. The beloved work has also become a perennial cash cow for DC Comics and parent company Warner Bros., never going out of print and spawning multiple editions, video games, motion comics, and controversial Before Watchmen prequels.
The Watchmen movie directed by Zack Snyder left a lot of people cold, so this animated iteration might receive a warmer reception in some circles. It’ll be interesting to see if this project sticks solely to the original work produced by Moore and Gibbons or if it incorporates elements from any of the Before Watchmen series. We’ve reached out to Warner Bros. for comment and will update this post if the studio responds.