The Alan Moore, Dave Gibbons, and John Higgins graphic novel Watchmen is set to receive a new adaptation from DC animation, and many details, including information about its release date, trailer, and more are now available. Following the 2009 Zack Snyder film and an HBO series, it has become evident that Watchmen is not nearly as unfilmable or unadaptable as many used to believe. Despite the mostly warm reception for the Snyder film, some details are missing, and the upcoming DC movie presents a possibility for the franchise to adapt the source material even closer.

With an eye for cultural and historical comment, Watchmen became an enormous hit when it was published between 1986 and 1987. Coming from an era where comic books were seen as a lesser art form, Watchmen helped to elevate the medium and has been listed on many of the best novel lists ever since. It became the first graphic novel to win a Hugo Award and has remained highly influential. The upcoming two-part 2024 DC animated movie will be the third major adaptation of Watchmen.

Watchmen Chapter 1 & 2 Latest News

During a Justice League: Warworld screening, DC Studios announced the film at San Diego Comic-Con in July 2023 alongside an announcement of the Crisis on Infinite Earths animated film. Reception to the announcement was generally positive, although some audiences had hoped that a second season of the HBO series would be the next Watchmen project instead.

The first teaser trailer for the new Watchmen was released in June 2024, along with the announcement that the film would be split into two parts. This led to speculation that the animated feature may more faithfully adapt the original graphic novel content, both due to its animated format but also because of its ability to split the story up. The trailer showed the unique animation of the films and gave a first look at some of the characters.

The second trailer for the film, as well as cast details, were released on July 10, 2024. Matthew Rhys, star of The Americans and Perry Mason, was confirmed to headline the adaptation, with The Mandalorian‘s Katee Sackhoff as Silver Spectre. IGN provided additional details that showed the box art, special features, and the release date of the first chapter, which will be in August 2024.

Watchmen Chapter 1 Release Date

Following an announcement at San Diego Comic-Con in 2023, little information was released about the film for nearly a year. A full trailer for Chapter I was finally released by Warner Bros. on July 10, 2024. With it came the news that Watchmen Chapter I will be released on digital on August 13, 2024, followed by a Blu-ray and 4K Ultra HD release on August 27th. Details for the release of Watchmen Chapter II are not yet available, but reports claim that it is intended to be released later in 2024.

Watchmen Chapter 1 & 2 Cast

IGN released the casting details of the upcoming Watchmen films on July 10, 2024. Matthew Rhys, star of The Americans and Perry Mason, will lend his voice to the Dan Dreiberg iteration of Nite Owl, or Nite Owl II. Played by Patrick Wilson in the Zack Snyder film, Dreiberg comes out of retirement after discovering that The Comedian has been killed. This central role is one of the most important in the movie.

One of the most successful genre stars of the past decades, Katee Sackhoff will be voicing Laurie Juspeczyk, otherwise known as the second Silk Spectre. Sackhoff has enjoyed a career of excellent roles, but is perhaps best known for her turn as Starbuck in Battlestar Galactica. More recently, she has had a recurring role in The Mandalorian. Another important figure, Juspeczyk is a legacy hero who has taken up the mantle of Silk Spectre from her mother. She was previously played by Malin Ackerman in the 2009 film.

Bosch star Titus Welliver will be voicing the character of Rorschach. Rorschach is the most popular Watchmen character, characterized as a violent vigilante with a selective moral code. Played in the 2009 film by Jackie Earle Haley, the character’s vicious, gravelly voice and unsettling mask helped to cement the antihero in the pop culture canon. Welliver appears to be playing the character similarly to Haley based on the samples of his voice from the trailer.

Additional stars from various mediums have been added to the Watchmen cast. Troy Baker, best known for voicing Joel in The Last of Us video games, and Yuri Lowenthal from Insomniac’s Spider-Man are set to voice Ozymandias and Wally Weaver respectively. Other cast members, including X2‘s Kelly Hu and The Simpsons’ Grey DeLisle will be lending their voices to the films, although it is currently unclear what roles they will be playing.

Watchmen Chapter 1 & 2 Story Details

Watchmen intends to adapt Alan Moore’s graphic novel faithfully for the screen, with animation directly drawing from Dave Gibons’ designs. The official synopsis released by Warner Bros. reads: “In an alternate world history set in 1985, the murder of a government-sponsored superhero draws his outlawed colleagues out of retirement and into a mystery that threatens to upend their personal lives and the world itself.” Contending with superhero mythology and storytelling, the Watchmen story is complex and detailed.

Set in an alternate 1985, Watchmen follows a history that saw superheroes become prominent in America in the 1940s and 1960s. With government ties, these heroes assisted in ensuring that America won the Vietnam War, and covered up the Watergate conspiracy. They included heroes like Nite Owl and the vigilante Rorschach, who were themselves deconstructions of popular comic book characters like Batman and Superman. The heroes are drawn back together by the mysterious murder of The Comedian, drawing a retired Nite Owl to look into the suspicious circumstances around the event.

It is unclear how restrictive the films intend to be, but certain story details of the Watchmen book, including alien squids and the Black Freighter, did not make it into the theatrical Snyder film. This has led to speculation that this new film may be able to adapt the original graphic novel more directly. There have also been ancillary Watchmen comic books that told additional characters’ stories in the years since. Further details may be pulled from these works for the upcoming animated films.

Watchmen Chapter 1 & 2 Trailer

Nearly a year after it was first announced, the original teaser trailer for Watchmen was released in June 2024. The trailer showed footage from the films and gave the first glimpse at the animation style used for the adaptation. Inside this trailer came the first announcement that the story would be broken into two parts.

The second trailer, a red-band trailer specifically for Watchmen Chapter I, was released on July 10, 2024, and gave a much better look at the upcoming film. The Watchmen Chapter I trailer shows off the voice cast and looks at several characters, especially The Comedian and Rorschach. The framing and appearance of certain scenes shown here also indicate that some of the panels will be adapted almost directly in the film.