HBO has long been hailed as one of the best producers of quality TV, but it’s rare that they make overt connections to the world of Hollywood blockbusters. In 2019, HBO released Watchmen, a nine-part TV limited series that was loosely based on the popular comic of the same name by Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons.
However, one of the unusual aspects of the series was that it came about 10 years after that same story was adapted for the big screen, with a feature film directed by Zack Snyder that debuted in 2009, and again shared the same name. Evidently, with two different adaptations of the same story, they had some differences.
But what HBO did with the story ultimately resulted in a far more impactful and resonant portrayal than the high-ticket film that ultimately failed to bring in a return on investment at the box office. And truthfully, it may have come down to how both of these projects handled the source material that made all the difference.
HBO’s Watchmen Embraced The Graphic Novel’s Ending
Within the comic book community, Alan Moore is revered. With his contributions to some of the most defining and influential comics ever made, including Watchmen, V for Vendetta, Batman: The Killing Joke, and many more, he has proven to be a masterful storyteller who creates enchanting and comprehensive worlds where his stories take place.
With that, Moore has been incredibly vocal about how his work is portrayed and his disapproval of adaptations in general. He strongly believes that stories are made to exist within a given medium and should remain preserved in that medium to retain their full impact. And unfortunately, in the case of both the Watchmen show and the movie, Moore has been strongly against their creation.
That being said, the TV show does pay more respect to Moore’s work due to the fact that it does not actually adapt the story from the comic, but picks up a narrative 34 years after the graphic novel ends. Whereas the movie adapts the original comic and chooses to make significant alterations to how the story develops, while also drastically altering the ending.
Why Zack Snyder’s Watchmen Didn’t Include The Giant Squid
Within the graphic novel, Ozymandias is revealed to be the ultimate villain, having created a giant squid which he successfully unleashes on New York, resulting in mass casualties, before he positions himself as the savior of the world by stepping in and defending people from the ‘alien invasion’ which he has secretly unleashed on the world.
Zack Snyder’s film, however, massively steps away from that concept, with Ozymandias framing Dr. Manhatten for unleashing destruction on New York, which he ‘stops.’ Then, Dr. Manhatten, seeing the sense in his plans, kills Rorschach, another one of the core heroes in the story, in order to keep this betrayal a secret and maintain peace under Ozymandias’ rule.
This ending also has a ripple effect throughout the story, making Dr. Manhatten into a more complex figure, and ultimately shifting the larger focus from one man, Ozymandias, to the team.
Is HBO’s Watchmen Better Than The Zack Snyder Movie
The changes in Zack Snyder’s film adaptation ultimately land in a similar place as far as the story is concerned. Ozymandias successfully unites the world under his own rule by deceiving people. The heroes agree to keep this betrayal a secret, and only Rorschach opposes the others, believing that the truth is more important.
However, the way that Snyder gets to this point feels more convoluted and somewhat like a change simply for the sake of vanity. Snyder didn’t break new ground, but he did backtrack and make a powerful story about corruption, greed, and the cost of peace into something that was more of a spectacle, and he fails to paint the characters in the proper light.
Ultimately, because the TV series was able to maintain the integrity of the original story, it serves as a better homage to Moore’s original vision. But again, the Watchmen TV show was pursuing its own agendas in telling a new story while piggybacking on a beloved IP. In either case, they fundamentally altered the story, but at least HBO looked forward instead of back.
- Release Date
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2019 – 2019-00-00
- Network
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HBO
- Directors
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David Semel, Fred Toye
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Regina King
Angela Abar / Sister Night
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Yahya Abdul-Mateen II
Cal Abar
