Sit down with any comic book fan and they will happily tell you how Alan Moore’s Watchmen is the absolute pinnacle of the medium. In fact, Moore’s deconstruction of the superhero genre is so well regarded that Time Magazine declared it one of the 100 greatest English language novels written since 1923. That’s no small feat. As with any popular graphic novel, it was only a matter of time until Hollywood came calling and decided to adapt it for the big screen.
When it came time to cast the Watchmen movie, director Zack Snyder (300) looked to Jeffrey Dean Morgan to play the pivotal role of The Comedian. The film won’t be released until March of 2009, but the first photo of the actor in costume has already been released. Fans should be prepared to see the former Supernatural and Grey’s Anatomy star tackle a darker role than anything he’s played before.
In Watchmen, The Comedian is a vigilante character who is a lot darker and more sinister than his superhero name implies. He has great fighting prowess, is an expert in practically any type of weaponry, and loves to send criminals to the slammer. However, he has some extremely dark secrets and predelictions that make it hard to view him as a standard hero. Just imagine Batman with even more psychological damage, and you may have some idea of how crazy The Comedian is.
Though it may be a small spoiler, one interesting thing about the character is that he’s dead from the moment the book begins. His demise actually kicks off the entire plot of the book on page one. However, the graphic novel contains plenty of flashbacks to his past adventures, which means that Jeffrey Dean Morgan fans will still see plenty of him in the movie. Just be prepared to see him playing a character that is even darker and scarier than Supernatural‘s late, great John Winchester.
Here is a photo of The Comedian as drawn by Dave Gibbons in the comic:
And here’s Morgan in the role, looking like a perfect match:
The film also stars Carla Gugino (Entourage), Patrick Wilson, Jackie Earle Haley, and Billy Crudup. It’ll be in theaters on March 6, 2009.
– Don Williams, BuddyTV Staff Columnist
Source: WatchmenMovie.WarnerBros.com
(Images courtesy of the CW and WatchmenMovie.WarnerBros.com)
Staff Writer, BuddyTV
