Watchmen is a project I’ve been anticipating for a long time now. It’s one of the most celebrated and literary graphic novels of all time; a complete deconstruction of the super hero genre…not to mention one of the most difficult to adapt.
In the ’90s, Terry Gilliam tried his hand at the material but couldn’t nail it. Five years ago David Hayter wrote an adaptation that got a lot of people buzzing. Darren Aronofsky and Paul Greengrass both took shots at the material but for various reasons, things never worked out. Hell, I even read a rumor that David Bowie was planning on making an opera based on the revered graphic novel. But after Zack Snyder impressed the studio brass with what he was doing on 300, he got the green-light to move ahead and finally, finally, bring this baby to the big screen.
Now fans of the comic have been wondering about the very important casting on this flick. Well, with this recent scoop, we at least know they’re thinking BIG. Devin Faraci over at C.H.U.D. scored an interview with Snyder and confirmed that there was heavy discussion with none other than Tom Cruise to take on the role of Ozymandias. Heavy discussion aside, it doesn’t appear Cruise will be donning the cape.
Ladies and gents… this is a shame. Cruise would have been perfect for the part. Ozymandias is a handsome, larger-than-life figure. Of all the super heroes in Watchmen, he’s the biggest star and the Mission: Impossible actor’s celebrity baggage would actually have benefited the role. As Faraci points out, it would have been a small, albeit important, Magnolia-type role and Cruise could have gained some serious street cred. Since he isn’t onboard, though… how’s about Brad Pitt or Jude Law instead?
It’s nice to see the studio and Snyder are aiming high, though. I can’t wait to see how the casting turns out on this thing. Faraci also confirmed that the film will be Rated R and that the metaphoric Tales of the Black Freighter pirate story-within-a-story will be included. You can read the rest of the piece right here.
