Watchmen is a 2009 film based on the twelve-issue graphic novel series of the same name created by writer Alan Moore, artist Dave Gibbons, and colorist John Higgins, published by DC Comics between 1986 and 1987. The graphic novel's film rights were acquired by producer Lawrence Gordon in 1986. Many problems halted the adaptation's development, with four different studios and various directors and screenwriters being attached to the project through twenty years. In 2006, Zack Snyder, who at the time was filming another comic book adaptation, was hired by Warner Bros. to helm Watchmen. Filming started in 2007, and following deals with two of the previous companies involved in the development—Paramount Pictures was responsible for international distribution rights after budgetary issues in 2004, resulting in a lawsuit by 20th Century Fox. Fox, which was already contacted by Gordon in 1987, received $1 million of the gross—the Watchmen adaptation was finally released in March 2009.

Pre-production Failed projects In August 1986, producer Lawrence Gordon acquired the film rights to Watchmen for 20th Century Fox, with producer Joel Silver working on the film. Fox asked author Alan Moore to write a screenplay based on his story, but when Moore declined the studio enlisted screenwriter Sam Hamm. On September 9, 1988, Hamm turned in his first draft, but said that condensing a 338-page, nine-panel-a-page comic book into a 128-page script was arduous. He took the liberty of re-writing Watchmens complicated ending into a "more manageable" conclusion involving an assassination and a time paradox. Fox put the film into turnaround in 1991, and Gordon set up the project at a new company, Largo International, with Fox distributing the film. Although Largo closed three years later, Fox was promised that they would be involved if the project was revived.

Gordon and Silver moved the project to DC Comics' parent company, Warner Bros., where Terry Gilliam was attached to direct. Unsatisfied with how Hamm's script fleshed out the characters, Gilliam brought in Charles McKeown to rewrite it. The second draft, which was credited to Gilliam, Warren Skaaren, and Hamm rather than McKeown, used the character Rorschach's journal as a voice-over, and restored scenes from the comic book that Hamm had removed. According to Watchmen artist Dave Gibbons, filming was to take place at Pinewood Studios. Silver wanted to cast Arnold Schwarzenegger as Dr. Manhattan. Because both Gilliam and Silver's previous films, The Adventures of Baron Munchausen and Die Hard 2 respectively, went over budget, they were only able to raise $25 million for the film—a quarter of the necessary budget. As a result, Gilliam abandoned the project, and ultimately decided that Watchmen was unfilmable. Gilliam explained, "Reducing [the story] to a two or two-and-a-half hour film [...] seemed to me to take away the essence of what Watchmen is about." When Warner Bros. dropped the project, Gordon invited Gilliam back to helm the film independently. Gilliam again declined, believing that the comic book would be better directed as a five-hour miniseries.

In October 2001, Gordon and Universal Studios signed screenwriter David Hayter to write and direct Watchmen in a "seven-figure deal". Hayter hoped to begin filming in early 2002, but did not turn in his first draft until July 2002. In May 2003, Hayter said he had Alan Moore's blessing on the film, despite Moore's disagreement with the project since its first incarnation. In July 2003, Watchmen producer Lloyd Levin announced the completion of Hayter's script, which he called "a great adaptation [...] that absolutely celebrates the book". Ultimately, Hayter and the producers left Universal over creative differences, and in October 2003, Gordon and Levin expressed interest in setting up Watchmen at Revolution Studios. The pair intended to shoot the film in Prague, but the project fell apart at Revolution Studios.

In July 2004, it was announced Paramount Pictures would produce Watchmen, and they hired Darren Aronofsky to direct Hayter's script. Gordon and Levin remained attached, collaborating with Aronofsky's producing partner, Eric Watson. Eventually, Aronofsky left to focus on The Fountain, and Paramount replaced him with Paul Greengrass, with a target release date of summer 2006. At this time, Paddy Considine was involved in negotiations for Rorschach. Jude Law (a fan of the comic) and Tom Cruise both lobbied for Ozymandias. Greengrass wanted Joaquin Phoenix for Dan Dreiberg and Hilary Swank as Laurie. To publicize the film, Paramount launched a now-defunct Watchmen teaser website that had a message board as well as computer wallpaper available to download. Graphic artist Tristan Schane drew designs of Dr. Manhattan for the film, which depicted him with visible intestines. Gilliam read Greengrass's revision of Hayter's script and liked it, but told Greengrass he did not think the studio would greenlight such a dark film. In March 2005, with rumors that high-profile projects, including Watchmen, were in danger of being cut, Paramount's CEO Donald De Line began urging a reduction in Watchmens budget so the film could get the greenlight. When Brad Grey took over as Paramount's CEO, Levin feared potential budget cuts, so he made plans to move the project outside the United Kingdom in an effort to save money. Before he could, Paramount placed Watchmen in turnaround, again. In March 2019, concept footage from David Hayter's project was released on Supervoid Cinema's YouTube channel, featuring Iain Glen in the role of Nite-Owl and Ray Stevenson in the role of Rorschach.

In October 2005, Gordon and Levin began talks with Warner Bros., originally the second studio to be attached to Watchmen, and confirmed in December 2005 that Warner Bros. had picked up the film, but that Greengrass was no longer attached to direct. In addition, the film was marked as an "open writing assignment", which meant David Hayter's script would be put aside. Despite this change, Hayter expressed his hope that his script would be used by Warner Bros. and that he would be attached to direct his "dream project".

Successful development After Warner Bros. officially became involved, the studio claimed that because Paramount had not fully reimbursed Universal for its development costs, Paramount had no legal claim over the film rights. Therefore, it would not be entitled to co-finance the film with Warner Bros. After negotiations between the studios, they agreed that Paramount would own 25% of the film and would distribute it outside North America. Impressed with Zack Snyder's work on the film 300, an adaptation of Frank Miller's comic book of the same name, Warner Bros. approached him to direct an adaptation of Watchmen. After spending a couple of weeks deciding whether he wanted to direct the film or not, Warner Bros. officially announced Snyder’s hiring on June 23, 2006, with Alex Tse attached to write the script. Drawing from "the best elements" from two of Hayter’s drafts, Tse’s script returned to the original Cold War setting of the Watchmen comic. Warner Bros. was open to keeping the 1980s setting, although less so to the R-rating that Snyder wanted; Snyder also decided to add a title montage sequence to introduce the audience to the alternate history of the United States that the film presented. Snyder kept the ending from one of Hayter's drafts, which simplified details of the conspiracy within the story, because he felt it would allow more screen time to explore characters' backstories.

Snyder said that he wanted the film to hold the same level of detail that was contained within the comic, with all of the easter eggs that were hidden within each frame of the comic's panels. As such, Snyder used the comic book as his storyboard, travelling with a copy and making notes on its pages. Next to the novel, Snyder cited Taxi Driver and Seven as visual influences. To make the film more topical, Snyder emphasized the existing subplot concerning energy resources. Roberto Orci and Alex Kurtzman met with Snyder twice during the later stages of pre-production to further revise the script, although Snyder explained the script was merely a document for the studio, and it was his storyboards that were his true guide while making the movie. James Kakalios, author of The Physics of Superheroes, was also hired as a scientific consultant.

Production Snyder hoped to have principal photography take place from June–September 2007, but filming was delayed until September 17, 2007. Snyder wanted a $150 million budget, but Warner Bros. preferred the budget remain under $100 million; the film ultimately finished with a budget of approximately $120 million. The production took place in Vancouver, where a New York City back lot was built. Sound stages were used for apartments and offices, while sequences on Mars and Antarctica were shot against green screens. Ten visual effects companies, Sony Pictures Imageworks and Intelligent Creatures among them, came on board to work on the film, which ended up having 1,100 shots featuring effects, a quarter of them being computer-generated imagery.

Comic book artists Adam Hughes and John Cassaday were hired to work on character and costume designs for the film. Costume tests were being done by March 2007. 300 associate producer Wesley Coller portrayed Rorschach in a costume test, which Snyder inserted into a trailer that accompanied the release of 300. Although he intended to stay faithful to the look of the characters in the comic, Snyder wanted Nite Owl to look scarier and Ozymandias to possess authentic Egyptian attire and artifacts. Ultimately, Oyzmandias, Nite Owl and Silk Spectre changed most from the comic, as Snyder felt "audiences might not appreciate the naiveté of the original costumes. So, there has been some effort to give them a [...] modern look—and not modern in the sense of 2007, but modern in terms of the superhero aesthetic". Costume designer Michael Wilkinson added that the costumes had to look realistic and protective, and that the Nite Owl costume should reflect Dan's interest in aerodynamics. The chain mail in his costume resemble a bird's feathers. Snyder also wanted the costumes to "comment directly on many of today’s modern masked vigilantes": The Ozymandias costume, with its molded muscles and nipples, parodies the costumes in Batman Forever and Batman & Robin. Throughout filming, Snyder also kept adding in dialogue to mention more of the characters' backstories so the film would be as faithful as possible.

Production designer Alex McDowell intended Nixon's war room to pay tribute to the war room in the film Dr. Strangelove. He also wanted Dr. Manhattan's apartment, which is inside his laboratory, to look like the work of Maison Jansen, explaining that "the powers that be, who know nothing about design, but needed [Manhattan] to feel like he was the most important guy in America". The apartment also echoes the film The Man Who Fell to Earth, with a book prop named Masterpieces in Paint and Poetry and a tennis courtroom with similar wallpaper. Set designers selected four Kansas City sculptors' works for use on the set of Dr. Manhattan's apartment, after discovering their works on the Internet. Filming ended on February 19, 2008.

Post-production

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