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First announced all the way back at SDCC 2023, DC's animated Watchmen adaptation is getting closer by the second. On June 13, Warner Bros. released the first trailer for the film - or rather, films; Watchmen will exist in two chapters - and you can view it right here:

To be sure, there's some interesting stuff going on here, from the CGI animation style that commenters were quick to point out was reminiscent of Marvel's What If...? to the involvement of actor Adam Driver (according to the trailer's description). And yet, one can't help but watch this trailer, see how similar it is to the source material, and wonder... why?

Don't get me wrong, I'm not trying to throw water on your excitement for this movie. If the adaptation is as 1-to-1 as it appears, it will no doubt be a great story with some striking visuals - that's worth being interested in. And yet, I have to point out that if you want a deconstructive superhero story with something to say, the HBO Watchmen series is already out. Or, if what really gets your excited is Dave Gibbons-designed visuals, you could go back and revisit the Zack Snyder movie. And on top of all that, there's always the original comic, still very much a bestseller.

I'm reminded a little bit of the live-action Lion King remake, a movie that told the same story as its inspiration, only slightly repackaged and recast with some genuinely talented folks. Maybe this film has an advantage over that project due to its being in two parts, so it'll contain more of the original story, but is it worth maing a full carbon copy film just for extended shots of a blue weiner and giant squid?

On second thought, maybe that is pretty cool.

The Watchmen trailer didn't reveal a release date for either part, but Popverse is keeping our ear to the ground.

Watchmen joins plenty of other superhero movies on the horizon - let Popverse keep you up to date on them all.