"Watchmen" is one of the few comic books that elevates the art form beyond just superheroes and supervillains. Since its release in 1986 and completion in 1987 it remains the only graphic novel to be named on Time Magazine's 100 Best English Language Novels from 1923 to present and the only graphic novel to win a Hugo Award. It is regarded by many to be the greatest comic book story every written. Perhaps this is why the concept of crafting it into a single film has been absolutely terrifying to so many writers and filmmakers and almost offensive to some hardcore "Watchmen" fans. It's been through many writers and directors in the past but only now is it in a real stage of production and under the care of director Zack Snyder; the man responsible for the incredible success of the film "300".

At the end of the Warner Bros presentation at this year's Comic-Con Snyder came out to discuss how he's approaching the project. He spoke about the challenges of creating an adult superhero story and getting a studio to sign off on it. Thanks to the success of "300" (one of the highest-grossing R-rated movies of all time) Snyder has much more pull with the studios then before and taking on an ambitious project like "Watchmen" is a logical step. As studios will there was pressure at first to modernize the setting (the original story is set during 1985) and tone it down to a PG-13 rating. Snyder told the Comic-Con attendees, "I don't know if 'Watchmen' should come to the people or if the people should come to 'Watchmen'," when he talked about broadening it for mass appeal, but he's obviously pushing for the latter. He went on to say, "We're not going to make it accessible to teeny-boppers. If it's not PG-13...then it's not." With the over $210 million domestic gross of "300" to back him up, it sounds like Warner Bros is letting him have his way and "Watchmen" is in excellent hands.

One of the enormous obstacles to overcome in adapting the "Watchmen" story is the adult nature of it. There simply isn't a viable way to make it a PG-13 story without pulling all the fangs out and turning it into something that just isn't "Watchmen" anymore. Snyder has had some luck convincing Warner Bros that there is nothing wrong with an adult superhero story, and if the story is good enough it will draw people to it without the need to pander to the lowest common denominator. Snyder thinks that people who aren't familiar with "Watchmen" may be shocked by what they see if they're expecting typical superhero fluff. "I think when they see 'Watchmen' they're going to say, 'He didn't just do that, did he? That looks like sexual assault to me.'" Rape, murder, a twenty-year old political climate, and a lack of special effects-laden superpowers may worry the average movie-goer, but Snyder is confident in both the story and his ability to stay true to the book.

A crucial piece that made "300" reverent to fans of the source material was Snyder's almost slavish devotion to the visuals. Many of the scenes are simply panels from Frank Miller and Lynn Varley's work brought to life. He plans to continue this trend with the "Watchmen" adaptation. In his meetings with Warner Bros he showed them much of Dave Gibbons' art from the series and explained, "It's already storyboarded, it's already directed, I'm just going to shoot that." The more Snyder talked about the project, the more fear ebbed out of the Comic-Con crowd and was replaced by applause. There were some questions during the Q&A about original "Watchmen" author Alan Moore, and Snyder was quick to dispel any rumors. Alan Moore asked his name to be removed from the project a very long time ago before Snyder was ever involved. While he would certainly like Alan to see and enjoy the end product, he isn't fretting over pleasing the author. "We all want to please Alan. It's noble to get the guy who created the thing to not hate it."

He spoke about the last adaptation of one of Moore's stories "V for Vendetta" in which they updated the story to a modern setting and pulled out a great deal of the narrative. Snyder said, "The idea is that the movie knows better, and that is a mistake." He feels that the book is the ultimate authority and when a question arises during the production, they will turn to the book for guidance. One of the easiest (from a studio perspective) things to cut for the film are the segments regarding the "Tales of the Black Freighter"; a pirate comic book read by a child in the "Watchmen" story that acts as a parallel to the main plot. It contains a great deal of metaphor and allegory and while may not seem relevant to someone at first glance it's one of the things that gives the story its depth. Snyder came right out and said, "I want it." When he gave the WB executives the original script for "Watchmen" he left it out with the intention of giving them a second script containing "Tales of the Black Freighter". Snyder felt it would be easier to absorb that way in a script format and the final word has not come down yet on whether it will be included or not.

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