Posted in: Movies, TV | Tagged: , , , , ,

Watchmen Animated Adaptation Is "Pure Moore": J. Michael Straczynski

J. Michael Straczynski insisted on why he insisted on an "Adapted by" credit on Warner Bros. Entertainment's Watchmen animated adaptation.

Published
by
|
Comments

Earlier today, Warner Bros. Entertainment released the official trailer for the first chapter of its upcoming animated adaptation of DC Comics' Watchmen (based on writer Alan Moore, artist Dave Gibbons, and colorist John Higgins's classic work) – with August 13th as the target date for its digital release (and on 4K Ultra HD and Blu-ray on August 27) – with "Chapter 2" set for sometime in late 2024/early 2025. When the details were first rolled out earlier today, we were pleasantly surprised to see that J. Michael Straczynski (Babylon 5 and so much more) had adapted the original work for the animated take. Earlier today, JMS took to Twitter/X to explain why he insisted his work on the project be listed as "adapted by" instead of "written by" in the credits. "By 'adapted' I mean strictly configuring the structure to work in a movie. I saw no need to write more material or change what works in the book. It's pure Moore," JMS shared. He continued, "I translated the structure to what works for film, but didn't add much of anything to the text."

watchmen
Image: Warner Bros. Entertainment Screencap

"I can now talk about it as the news is breaking. I adapted WATCHMEN for Warners animation. By 'adapted' I mean strictly configuring the structure to work in a movie. I saw no need to write more material or change what works in the book. It's pure Moore," JMS wrote in the first of two tweets clarifying what his role was in making the two-chaptered animated adaptation a reality. He added in the second, "That being said, I don't want people to come to the movie looking for JMS-isms or the like. I translated the structure to what works for film, but didn't add much of anything to the text. Which is why I insisted on an Adapted By credit on the movie rather than Written By." Here's a look at the two original tweets:

The voice cast for "Chapter 1" includes Matthew Rhys (Dan Dreiberg, Nite Owl), Katee Sackhoff (Laurie Juspeczyk, Silk Spectre), Titus Welliver (Rorschach, Walter Kovacs), Troy Baker (Adrian Veidt, Ozymandias), Adrienne Barbeau (Sally Jupiter, Silk Spectre), Corey Burton (Captain Metropolis), Michael Cerveris (Jonathan Osterman, Dr. Manhattan), Jeffrey Combs (Edgar Jacobi, Moloch), John Marshall Jones (Hooded Justice), Yuri Lowenthal (Wally Weaver), Geoff Pierson (Hollis Mason, Nite Owl), Kari Wahlgren (Janey Slater), Rick D. Wasserman (Edward Blake, The Comedian), Grey DeLisle, Kelly Hu, Max Koch, Phil LaMarr, Dwight Schultz, and Jason Spisak.

Produced and directed by Brandon Vietti from an adaptation by J. Michael Straczynski, the animated Watchmen sees Jim Krieg and Cindy Rago producing and Gibbons serving as a consulting producer. Sam Register, Larry Gordon, and Lloyd Levin serve as executive producers.

Enjoyed this? Please share on social media!

Stay up-to-date and support the site by following Bleeding Cool on Google News today!

Ray FlookAbout Ray Flook

Serving as Television Editor since 2018, Ray began five years earlier as a contributing writer/photographer before being brought onto the core BC team in 2017.
twitterinstagram
Comments will load 20 seconds after page. Click here to load them now.