Who's Watching the Watchmen?

In the past few months, the casting buzz on Alan Moore's masterpiece Watchmen has been heating up to a boiling point. If you've never heard of the Watchmen graphic novel, let me fill you in: it is the single greatest graphic novel (or, "adult comic book," if you prefer) in the history of the genre. It's been lumped with literary classics on countless "Best Of" lists, along with Art Spiegelman's Maus. More importantly, it did for the comic world what Muhammad Ali did for boxing: put it on the freakin' map, baby. Moore single-handedly turned the "funnybooks" into a legitimate art form, along with his other stories such as The Killing Joke (which should play a prominent role in how the next Batman film is told).

So what's the big deal, then? Well, only that Alan Moore and the entirety of comicdom are waiting with bated breath on this momentous occasion. See, Watchmen has been in development hell for over a decade; and partially by Moore's own hand. A fiery opposition to the film version of his grand opus, Moore believed that his film was not meant for a cinematic experience-but reserved only to the comfortable setting of reading the story at your own pace, examining every detail without the worry of the frames whizzing past you.. Many fans still had high hopes of seeing Rorschach fire his grappling hook into the Comedian's apartment window-all in real-time, and on the big screen. The tale of modern-day superheroes dealing with problems such as drugs, old age, and faltering public image was lauded as being a dead ringer for the movie theater, it seemed.

Just as it was sure that we'd never see Dr Manhattan rise from the atomic ashes, enter one Zack Snyder. The director of the successful Dawn Of The Dead remake and the recent blockbuster 300, young Snyder has volunteered to take hold of the biggest reigns in the history of comicbook cinema: making a successful Watchmen movie and hopefully show Moore that the experiment can be pulled off. Although it would be obvious that certain elements would have to be cut from the movie-the Tales Of The Black Freighter segments would definitely be minimized-Snyder still has faith that he can tell the story in one single movie, without any kind of Kill Bill-esque volumes.

Now, such a colossal responsibility means that only one wrong move can render Snyder to dust. With this being only his third feature film, he has his work cut out for him. But...if he somehow can manage to hold the stern steady and deliver us the greatest superhero story ever told outside of Christ himself, Snyder will go down in history as The Man Who Lived.

The prime question on everyone's mind was the casting. The dynamic characters from Moore's world would require intense scrutiny to properly cast. The very factor of "who plays who" could go as far as to make or break the film. And Snyder and Company knew this, which might explain the logic behind the recent "actor vs. movie star" buzz I've seen. What I mean is that Snyder has taken great lengths to ensure that we don't get stuck with a big name who can't grasp the material. Don't expect to see blowhards like Tom Cruise or Angelina Jolie-Cruise even was once attached to the role of stoic, calculating Adrian Veidt; but Snyder quickly put that rumor to rest. Instead, expect to see some of the lesser-known people in the Hollywood crowd who have a penchant for character acting and have proved themselves savants in particular roles.

The following is an analysis thus far of who has been rumored to being hammered into the film:

1) Nite Owl, aka Dan Dreiberg, might very well be played by Patrick Wilson, who I remember from his role in the movie The Alamo. Though Wilson is a bit younger than Dan was in the comic, he has a certain look about him that clearly echoes Dan. Even his appearance in The Alamo vaguely reminds of how Nite Owl looked when he was out and about-feathery hair and all. Wilson has pretty much hinted how he's taken the role in a few interviews, so for now it's safe to assume that we have the Nite Owl on board. Overall, not a bad choice; Wilson is a solid actor from what I've seen.

2) Jason Patric, who has also starred in The Alamo along with Wilson, has been rumored to have picked up the role of Dr. Manhattan after Keanu Reeves turned it down. In my opinion, Reeves would have actually fit the bill pretty well; the character of Dr. Manhattan is a very solemn and emotionless one. Ring any bells? Neo was more or less the same way. Ah, well...I don't know much about Patric, but he doesn't stray too far from what Jon Osterman looks like. And it would seem that Snyder is picking up his talent in bunches, as you'll see in a moment.

3) Ever see that movie Little Children? Apparently, so did Snyder, and I'm guessing he liked it because at least three actors from the movie are rumored to be attached to this project. Along with Patrick Wilson, Kate Winslet has been heavily rumored for the role of Silk Spectre-that is, the younger progeny of Sally Juspeczyk. Again, brilliant move by Snyder-if this is reputedly true, that is.

4) The reason why I hope Snyder is playing favorites from Little Children is for the sake of Rorschach. Probably the most popular of Watchmen characters, the performance of the masked vigilante is one of the finer points to this film. Whoever plays him has to have everything down to pat: from the eccentric monologues right down to the monotonous, uneasy voice, Rorschach is probably going to be the greatest challenge to portray on the silver screen.

And stepping up to this challenge is a pinch hitter-one hell of a pinch hitter, if you ask me. None other than comeback kid Jackie Earle Haley has been rumored to have finalized the deal and set in stone that he is going to step into demented Walter's shoes and start scribbling into his journal. Haley, who was once a promising young child star in the original Bad News Bears, made his triumphant return in All The King's Men and gave a spectacular performance in Little Children. And if you've seen his appearance, he really has that certain Kovacs vibe to him.

It is also worth noting that Daniel Craig and Simon Pegg were among others rumored for Rorschach, but it appears as though Haley is the most likely candidate. Former candidate Paul Greengrass stated that the company had turned him down in favor of Haley, so it appears that we'll get Haley in the pivotal role.

5) The last of the worthy casting notices is perhaps the most definite I can pronounce as of today. Jude Law is almost certainly going to be involved in this project, on way or another-and it looks like he's going to be Adrian Veidt, aka Ozymandias. Sporting a tattoo of Rorschach, Law has been a diehard fan of the story for quite some time-and Snyder would be downright foolish to turn down Jude Law for a role that he could excel in. Hell, Law is Ozymandias; he's got everything from the general look to the uppercrust diction working in his favor. Call this one a lock, because I'm fairly sure that no one else could have the combined passion, talent, and look for the role of Ozymandias.

There are a bunch of other worthwhile rumors in the mill-Jeremy Irons playing Moloch, Virginia Madsen as Sally Jupiter, and Gretchen Mol as Janey Slater-but they seem less likely. One of the only other casting notices I've seen involves Thomas Jane in some way. Apparently, Snyder wants the former Punisher to play the Comedian. Not sure if that will come to fruition, but it sounds like a good pick all the same. Not all of this is 100% foolproof right now-if I had to pick out the most legitimate claims, I'd say that Haley, Patric, Law, and maybe Jane are the ones to be permanently attached to the film.

With the recent bad taste of V For Vendetta in Moore's mouth, you can't blame him for being suspicious that his greatest tale is in jeopardy to follow the same fate. Still, with a good script (some of which was supplied by David "Solid Snake" Hayter, no less) and the right direction of aesthetic balance, I'm sure that Snyder is going to pleasantly surprise many-and maybe Alan Moore himself, as well. Snyder proved he could faithfully recreate a story from the pages of a graphic novel when he pulled out all stops to the epic 300 film, which was originally authored by the great Frank Miller-a man who is only second to Moore in terms of comic book greatness. At this rate, if anyone can pull off a cold fusion and drag this project kicking and screaming from the halls of obscerity and into the light, it's Zack Snyder. Excelsior!