‘Watchmen’ didn’t achieve the same level of box office success as Zack Snyder’s other comic book movies like ‘300’ or ‘Man of Steel,’ but it still appears to be his favorite.
“I would have to say ‘Watchmen,’ probably for me, just like the process of adaptation from comic book to movie design, all the things as we went from comic books to movie,” Snyder said when ComicBook asked about the adaptation he was the proudest of in a new interview. “I think ‘Watchmen’ is like the cleanest, and kind of most satisfying, transition to adapted material.”
The 2009 film followed a group of retired superheroes investigating the murder of a teammate. Set in an alternate version of 1985, it featured Malin Åkerman, Billy Crudup, Matthew Goode, Carla Gugino, Jackie Earle Haley, Jeffrey Dean Morgan, and Patrick Wilson.
Looking back, ‘The Dark Knight’ director Christopher Nolan described ‘Watchmen’ as ahead of its time in a 2023 interview with The Hollywood Reporter. “I’ve always believed ‘Watchmen’ was ahead of its time,” he shared. “The idea of a superhero team, which it so brilliantly subverts, wasn’t yet a thing in movies. It would have been fascinating to see it released post-Avengers.”
Patrick Wilson, who played Nite Owl, shared a similar view earlier that year: “I knew Zack was ahead of the curve. It’s weird to say that audiences weren’t ready for it. But you need a movie like that. You need movies to go so dark that then ‘Avengers’ can go so light. I do believe in that.”
Snyder also directed other DC projects like ‘Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice’ and ‘Justice League,’ which had a director’s cut released in 2021. He’s now working on the ‘Rebel Moon’ franchise and Netflix’s animated show ‘Twilight of the Gods.’
