The V

This is in comics, but it could equally go in Movies, TV or lunchboxes. Watchmen is being franchised. Wooo!

http://www.empireonline.com/news/story.asp?NID=26914

<<The word is that, despite DC's very public falling out with the irascible Moore, head honcho Paul Levitz was always adamant that Watchmen, at least in print form, was not to be messed with. But with Levitz stepping down, Watchmen is now without in-house defenders. And with the movie propelling the book to the status of DC's all-time bestseller, the barbarians are howling at the gates.

Apparently an expanded Watchmen universe is now the pet project of DC's senior vice president Dan Didio, who has visions of a series of comics prequels, sequels and spin-offs, and, of course, further movies. >>

I'm reasonably good at ignoring bits of stuff I don't like, so part of me wants this to happen just to watch people shit a brick.

Eoin

"Or maybe you'd just like to see Rorschach let loose in the DC offices."

Better him than Superboy Prime.

It's probably heresy, but I wouldn't mind another Watchmen movie. As long as they keep it R-rated and hardcore, I'll happily lap up more adult superhero movie action.

The comics on the other hand... I can't think of anyone decent who'd do it that'll make them worth buying.

Bendis?

Him or Johns. They're the only two people who write comics, right?

Actually, a Baker_Baker/Rollinson dream team would be immense.

I thought for a second you meant written by him and drawn by me. It would be a thing of beauty! By that I mean it would be incomprehensible and four years late.

<<By that I mean it would be incomprehensible>>

I think Rorshach's psychotic voice would be surprisingly well captured.

Eoin

'The accumulated filth of all their Bendis and Millar comics will foam up about their waists and all the writers and fanboys will look up and shout "Save us!"... and I'll look down and whisper "Cunts."'

Not enough 'as far as'es.

waht's next? DiDio to stablish new direction for DC: Batman will from now on will no longer always win?

Man, dude's one cunt hair away from being lynched by pitchfork-weilding fans.

Late 80s/early 90s Morrison writing a meta-Watchmen involving the influence of Superfolks on Moore's 80s work would be amusing. I can't imagine being particularly interested in anyone other Morrison working on any iteration of Watchmen, actually, and with Morrison it's (mostly) just the chance to see the Anxiety of Influence so obviously being worked out on the page.

While the outrage will be fun, it still upsets my storytelling sensibilities way too much.  I just can't stand when people mess with a finished story.

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We should start a betting pool on how long it takes to resurrect Rorschach, starting from the first issue of any new Watchmen comic. Hell, it probably has to be measured in panels.

They'll probably start with spin-off prequels to test the water. I'm more interested in what writer will touch this. I would have thought any of the big names would refuse to do it, and do DC really think that having Kyle Yost or Abnett and Lanning* doing Watchmen 2 is going to look good?

Eoin

*I don't know if they'd do it, I'm just plucking out random third tier comic writers.

Dibs! I don't even have a tier.

Heh, DC wish their second bananas were as good as DnA.

Ironically, a Watchmen movie sequel is probably the one spinoff that won't be coming out of this.

Aye, I don't remember the WATCHMEN movie making a whole lot of money. And especially when you can make it reeeeeally low-budget like KICK-ASS and it will still (Because it will) rake in mucho dollars, why bother with some overly elaborate faux-literary bullshit like WATCHMEN?

I am, like most others, in a fervour of excitement not for the actual products - which will obviously be dried shit on toast - but for the Red Lantern Rage that will spring up around them. People treat WATCHMEN like it's the fucking Bible, like any sort of questioning of its sturdy foundations will cause it to crumble. I say, whack a couple of NITE-OWL minis out there, do some RORSCHACH CHRONICLES stuff.

Oh, hahahahaha, whatsis-face Finch who did ULTIMATUM has just signed for DC with no project to work on. That would be AWESOME if he was doing WATCHMEN 2. Although - OH SHIT. You just KNOW that DC would ask Straczynski to write it.

Prediction! "The Rorschach Chronicles" will be a mini featuring a mysterious character who has taken up Rorschach's crusade, who in the finale will be dramatically unmasked and revealed as Ketchup on Shirt Lad from "The New Frontiersman." YOU HEARD IT HERE FIRST, TRUE BELIEVERS!

Watchmen costed 130 mil and delivered (to date) 185, which means it possibly made a bit of money (and will keep doing it)

Personally I'm looking forward to the Jeph Loeb finale to next year's crossover, where Rorshach kills Sinestro and Dr Manhattan get's a ring.

Eoin

Not to mention Red Manhattan.

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At 130 million, you're looking at at least 200million with prints and advertising. It's probably done well enough on DVD but comic aside it hasn't spawned much merchandise or secondary revenues (unlike a Batman or an Avatar) I can see why a sequel is far from a sure thing.

Eoin

Doomed. Wrong. Madness.

Womanhattan and Manhatteen.

I didn't hear a great hosannah when the bells & whistles director's cut DVD came out so I'm assuming it's a revenue stinker in the home market as much as it was at the box office. I think they all thought (and we did, deep deep down in our dark dark hearts) that it would be a cult hit and sell on DVD for ever in huge numbers like an early Kevin Smith film, but it turns out nobody has a real urge to see the film with an extra fucking forty minutes of chuff squeezed in.

And maybe if they'd made these sequels back ten years ago (When you could have called on Gaiman, Morrison Prime, Ennis, Ellis, Milligan, etc) they wouldn't have seemed like as blatant cash grabs as they are now and might have reclaimed a little eensy bit of respect. The problem being, you had to wait until Moore had gone mad enough that nobody cared about his complaints any more. That day has come! Maybe the LOEG, CONSTANTINE, FROM HELL and V FOR VENDETTA films were specifically made by DC to wear away Moore's sanity to get to this exact point! It's a thought...

Why would Gaiman, Morrison, Ennis, Ellis, & Milligan have gone against Moore's wishes to write Watchmen sequels in 2000 if they wouldn't in 2010?

Yes, but only if he's referred to as Ranhattan.

I prefer the notion that Ozymodius goes batshit insane from commiting mass murder, plus effectively causing Rorschach's death at the hands of Doctor Manhattan and that his guilt causes his mind the fracture in two, with the second personality being Rorschach.

It would let them do a big build-up for Rorscach's unmasking PLUS let them bring Adrian to the forefront via him searching for the new Rorscach (perhaps with the plot point that the police/government asks Adrian to come out of retirement to catch Rorscach V2.0) only to find out that the prey he's hunting is himself.