Watchmen -- The Movie

Watchmen -- The Movie


I'm Soopa, Thanks for Asking!’s Vox Profile


June 14, 2007


by Soopa



The Watchmen was always one of my favorite comic book series/graphic novels. I read it a year or two after it came out in the 80's, and quickly re-read it several times because there is so much going on in the story.

Well, it looks like a movie version is coming out in 2008, and years ago I put together a list of actors I'd like to play the main characters, and of course now I can't find the fucking thing. But I thought I'd respeculate at the characters who are yet uncast, while throwing in my opinions on the roles that have been cast. (roles that have already been cast are in BOLD.

1. Keanu Reeves-Dr. Manhattan Not my ideal choice for the role, assuming he will be all CGI, I had always hoped someone with an eloquent speaking voice like Ben Kingsley or Ian McKellen would have that role.

2. Patrick Wilson-Night Owl II I don't know much about Patrick Wilson, except that he used to date Scarlett Johanssen, and was in the stage production (and HBO reproduction) of Angels in America. He is supposed to be very good, but Night Owl (one and two) were never my favorite characters, anyway.

3.Ozymandias-Jude Law. This one outright disappoints me, the more I think about it. I just don't think Jude Law is as physically imposing as Ozymandias is in the series. While he's known for his mind, Ozy still cuts an imposing profile, and I feel like the filmmakers missed it on this one. My choices- As scary as this sounds, a guy like Brad Pitt would have been a better choice, in my opinion. He doesn't strike an imposing figure, either, but could play the dark side of Ozymandias very well.

4. Gerard Butler-Role Unknown I liked 300 quite a bit, and the fact the the director of 300 is doing Watchmen, this rumor seems to have some credibility. I could live with him playing the Comedian, but not really any of the other roles.

UNCAST ROLES

1. Rorschach-This is the cherry role for pretty much an A-list or want to be A-list actor in Hollywood. Rorschach is dark, moody, yet a redeeming hero who carries a big roles in the series and is probably the role that would be the lead in the movie. Since he narrarates much of the story in Watchmen, him being the lead role only makes sense. Years ago, my #1 choice for this was Tim Roth. He's about the size of Rorschach, and the perfect actor to play a kinda grimy character who isn't good looking, but has a lot of charisma. I still think Roth would be damn good for the role, but would have to put on some muscle. Other interesting possible choices: After his performance in Batman Begins, I think Christian Bale would be damn good as Rorschach, but he's just too good looking. Michael Rosenblum from Smallville would be decent, mainly because you wouldn't recognize him with hair, and he plays the dark side of Lex Luthor very well on that show. A guy built like Thomas Jane would also be a good choice, but again, would have to have a lot of makeup to ug him up for the role.

2. Comedian- This will probably be Gerard Butler, but I always thought this was a role Tommy Lee Jones could really blow up in. He's known for being a nice guy, but has always played strong characters, and if he could capture the dark behind the scenes side of the Comedian, I think he would be a huge addition to the movie.

3. Silk Spectres-I think coming up with a younger actress to pay the 2nd Spectre wouldn't be that hard, there are tons of choices like Rachel Weisz, Jennifer Garner(uhh, maybe not), Milla Jovavich, or even a longshot like Erica Durance (Lois Lane on Smallville). Pairing her up with the actress to play her mom would be the tough part. It's a very tough role, and very integral to the story, as well as to the development of the 2nd Silk Spectre character. Sigourney Weaver would probably be my #1 choice, as she is built like she could be a crimefighter, and is still gorgeous. Probably a little young to play the role, but they can fix that.

So, what characters did I miss? There are other smaller, but juicy, roles like Hooded Justice (Tom Cruise in the FACE role of all time) as well as other folks I'm probably missing. Regardless, I really liked 300, so I think Snyder should do a good job on this movie.





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