I guess the question is why? People would not accept the ending in a movie about a bunch of regular people choosing to be superheroes plus one actual super-powered being but yet if there's the original Watchmen ending...it would be implausible? Or they tried some low end CGI and it didn't look good? I'd like to know why they decided to drop the ending. This is soooooo common today it seems for translations or remakes...I still say why change it? Why change the end of 'I am Legend?" and for that matter, why change the ending of "The Mist"? Why?

It sounds like Zach has ruined it after all.

The squid represented an alien threat, giving humanity a wake-up call - all other emnities would be put aside as the people of the world united; that was the whole point - an extraterrestrial threat forcing us as humans to 'grow up'

Framing Dr. Manhattan is a cop out and simply isn't on, Zach.

Sorry, son, but you blew it.

still Manhattan's pretty smart too. and the idea that Ozymandius "world's smartest man" thinks up that dumb idea and Manhattan and the others buy into it is too neat for my liking.

What was I thinking?

Well we've had the squiddy hints dropped for a while now TBH and it's a real pity it's out. There WERE VERY good reasons for squiddy (it wasn't just pulled out of the comics ass it was important) even this "alternate ending" watchmen (and who knows maybe snyder will have the balls to do a squiddy ending in a DVD special edition eventually ?) anyway even alternate ending watchmen will still kick the living shit out of almost all of the kiddie friendly Superhero fare we've had of late.

The Journal absofuckinglutely HAS to be in and simply hasn't been included in the cut that was shown.

I think if the whole world was under a threat from the good Doctor they would unite.

That said, the squid isn't the whole ending. If we don't get Veidt's doubt, and Manhattan's refusal to assuage that doubt, even though he's so detached that he can see that the death of millions is better than the death of billions, then a fair bit of depth is lost from both those characters. And if we don't get the Russian fast-food shop and the diary scene at the end, then the ending's truly fucked the movie, because we don't get that sense that maybe Veidt was wrong, maybe it'll all just happen again anyway.

Making Dr. Manhattan the new "monster" COULD potentially work. But to write it off as an outrage prior to actually seeing the finished work is a little premature.

For someone as concerned about being true to the graphic novel as Snyder is, I'm going to assume he at least TRIED to see if the squid would work and then determined that it didn't. We weren't part of that discussion. But for all of you saying that this is a gigantic outrage, well, despite the fanatical nature of the internet, there does seem to be a fair percentage of people who are willing to let the squid go.

2) The squid is INTENTIONALLY hokey, Watchmen is a deconstruction of the type of superhero comics that came before it, lose the squid and a whole layer of subtext goes with it.

Seen that cover yet? (it's the brave and the bold #28. Easily found on Wikipedia if you look for "Justice League") Don't think starro the conqueror ans squiddy is a fucking co-incidence myself so it's almost certainly another reason why squiddy was there.

And as for the argument that the giant squid at the end of Watchmen was dumb: Yeah, it is. And I think that was Moore's full intent -- it is really big, dumb and absurd. He meant that ending, with the giant alien squid, as a satire.

Now I'm not necessarily saying that the original ending would have worked in the movie. I honestly don't know. But I could see how creatively challenging it would be to go from a serious mood to satiric climax. In Dr. Strangelove, the mood is satire all the way throughout. Unfortunately, if they tried to do this with a Watchmen movie, it would probably play out like Mystery Men (which, the original graphic novel, itself was kind of inspired by Watchmen). So I'm neither defending nor criticizing the change to the climax in the Watchmen movie, but I do defend the Giant Alien Squid in the graphic novel.

I would have an "alien" spaceship land in central park like "Day the Earth Stood Still". Scary looking alien comes out and psychicly blasts New York.

Making Dr. Manhattan the "universal threat" actually works within the confines of that fictional universe, and definitely works better for a movie.

A four hour movie? Then maybe a straight adaptation, but whats the point of a straight adaptation? There's no such thing as a straight adaptation! Hence the word "adaptation."

People....this isn't the new Battlestar fucking Galactica...this is WATCHMEN...probably the greatest graphic novel ever written and arguably one of the "greats" in terms of fiction of any medium.

But it's "ok" or (gasp!) "better" that they changed the ending? This isn't freakin blue flames or pink nipple on the batsuit folks.

You might think that a "bomb" or framing Manhattan would "work" but it changes one of the core aspects of the plot and the catalyst of the final storyline resolution. A few TB'ers above me have posted exactly why changing this is a turd-burgler idea of the worst kind. Without that *specific* ending or something so close as to be the exact same thing (meaning why change it), it will simply not be the same ending at all and, thus, not the same story. Anything but the ending of the graphic novel or something of the exact same context (something extra-terrestrial or not of this earth) simply carries no weight as an existential threat to the entire human race causing the world to unite in peace. I'd hate to see this thing get it so right and then totally pooch-screw the end.

As to this change for the film version; I'm not sure I like the idea of Manhattan being framed, but it does serve exactly the same purpose as the squid and 'works' the same way, in that it unites the world against a common threat. I think in the context of a film - if the rest of the story is good enough and true enough to the novel - it will probably work. As long as it packs the same sort of punch, and the journal 'epilogue' is still in.

My advice: Re-read the Watchman and look at it as a set-up for a big joke. Edward Blake (the Comedian) "got" the joke, and it drove him mad.

A movie is not a book, not even a book with pictures... of squids.

Cheers, Zack. My ass just stopped aching from the one-two Spielberg and Darth Gizzard gave mee with INDIANA JONES AND THE PIECE OF SHIT SEQUEL and you manage to create an ending that makes Dr Manhattan look stupid for going along with it, and everyone else look stupid for even falling for it. The entire intricate plotline of WATCHMEN is brought down like a pack of cards because you tried to be a smart-ass.

Yep, Alan Moore was right. It couldn't be done. Because even you, Zack - the one auteur we thought WOULD get it right - thought he was smarter than the great Alan Moore, and fucked with the ending.

And that's the end of all the fanboy goodwill towards the great Zack Snyder. We fully expect to see you doing 301 or DAWON OF THE DEAD II this time next year.

Damn, I hope this shitty ending is misdirection. But what are the fucking odds of THAT?

Imagine fake commercials for Veidt products that would be played before an episode - I can easily imagine a fake commercial for Watchmen action figures that looks exactly like the kind of ads for the Star Wars action figures by Kenner back in the early 1980s. This was the idea that Alan Moore was going for with Watchmen - a satire on the superhero genre and the business of marketing superheros. Anybody find it ironic that while the Watchmen graphic novel made fun of the merchandising of superheroes (including mentioning Watchmen action figures within the graphic novel), DC Comics actually produced action figures based on the Watchmen, which pissed off Moore, since he wasn't get paid for them.

Face it: The reason many of you take the Watchmen way too seriously is because you guys take superhero comic books way too seriously, and that's what Moore was addressing with Watchmen. He was pointing out how "stupid" it all is, but framing it within the context of a universe/world he created where such absurdity is part of everyday life.

Bottom line? The joke is that the Comedian's view on life is RIGHT - and Ozy can't let him live long enough to let anyone else know what he knows. Yes, he might have undone the scheme by mentioning the island to Moloch, but worse - he saw that someone far more visionary than himself could do a great evil and bring about the ultimate good. And this knowledge made the Comedian confront himself with the knowledge of who he truly was: an evildoer, justifying his evil actions by claiming his intentions were good.

They nuked the squid. Motherfuckers.

9/11, for example, should've led us to complete unity but the polarizing political nature of our response made the world more fragmented.

If on the other hand something happened that had no recourse to any assocation here on earth then I think that goodwill everyone felt around the world on 9/11 would be palpable. This ending, if intact, is such a load of horseshit.

I'm not dismissing Watchmen at all. I think Watchmen is a brilliant work. Furthermore, I don't think that people who dislike the GAS are reading the book "wrong"; it's a controversial ending because while the story deconstructs the superhero comic book genre, it also acknowledges it (the absurdity of it all) in the climax. I do recommend people re-read the graphic novel with this in mind, and you will probably see how it all, especially the ridiculousness, fall into place.

And not that anybody has questioned my geek cred, but one of my favorite movies this year is The Dark Knight. So I don't think there's anything wrong about taking this genre seriously; it's just that in the case of the Watchmen, "why so serious?" is probably the best approach when addressing discussion of this seminal work. So, my final thought is: Watchmen IS a great work of storytelling; it's a SERIOUS piece of graphic novel art. The storyline in it IS, frankly, "absurd" - but I am not using "absurd" as an insult or to be dismissive. Satire (good satire) is considered a respectful and, yes, "serious" art form, and that's what Watchmen is.

So I get the idea of simplifying things. I think this solution is a little too mundane however, and I'll miss the idea of the artists helping create this monster. It's an important part of the book, the artist community's typical pie in the sky, utopian ambitions being put to extreme use.

You know what, it comes down to just this... If someone attempts to adapt something and the original creator doesn't give their blessing, there's an insurmountable problem. Period. Somehow Hayter got his ok from Moore.

It can work without the squid. You just can't keep the plot exactly like the comic and not end with it, b/c then it changes the meaning and plot symettry. However, Snyder has tweaked a few things throughout, which may in turn make the ending okay. Just settle the fuck down!

But just goes to show what Alan Moore meant when he jinxed Snyder's vision. Snyder can re-create visual tone of the novel, but he can't replecate the de-construction part... for all he tries, he can't deconstruct the Movie-Superhero mythos the way Novel did with comics. Maybe it's impossible, but then, maybe some other director smart enough could have pulled it off.

What are the similarities in most Superhero movie villians? one hint: Ironman and Incredible Hulk.

It's the fact that villian in these two is a bigger badder version of the hero and won't have existed in first place if it weren't for the hero. THAT is what the common threat in Watchmen should be.

And it makes me realize, thanks to G100's pointer, why world is not ready for Watchmen movie yet... because...

There are NO SUPERHERO TEAM MOVIES yet. Watchmen movie should have waited few more years, before The Avengers and JLA movies came out. Now is NOT the time for Watchmen, no matter what you say, coz there is no Movie equivalant for the movie to de-construct.

*All the TBers in the world simultaneously get on their knees. They hate Snyder for it, but he has them over a barrel and they know it* Know squid, know peace.

Honestly when I read the comic, I was puzzled why they went with the squid instead of the 'hostile alien spacecraft crashlands in New York' idea.

Of course, this is an early screening, and we may be surprised when we find out that Snyder put an alternate ending on just to fuck with the Internet. Remember, these folks signed Non-Disclosure Agreements, and went out and blabbed anyway, so I wouldn't put it past Snyder to mislead them.

V for Vendetta was changed, too, but you all thought it was genius. Some things are smart changes for film. Give it a chance.

But as many of you have pointed out, the BRILLIANCE of this ending is the satirical self-awareness of using such a hokey idea. I mean a Comic Book Artist Designed, Pcychically enhanced Doomsday Squid. GENIUS! But tell me. How the hell is that going to work on Film? Ironically, I may be the only person here who thinks Snyder could have pulled it off but I can understand why he and the Studio would have balked at the idea.

I think as long as the alternative ending is integrated well into the plot, we have little to worry about. The Comedian stumbling across this plan is one obvious plot merging poing. If this is done well, the entire film isn't a write off. As many have said, I think Ozymandias framing Dr. Manhattan as the cause of this disaster could work. Especially if the good Doc goes ahead with the plan partly as a way to prevent Nuclear War and partly because he is leaving earth and doesn't really care. He really is central to the graphic novel in the sense that he is one of the reasons why the Watchman timeline diverges from our timeline. If he hadn't accidentally received his 'God Like' powers, Vietnam wouldn't have been won and the other Masks wouldn't have had such a big effect on the world. Specifically Ozymandias and The Comedian.

The scenes I am worried about losing are more to do with the Comedian's and Rorschachs characters. I think we all know what they are.

Besides, no-one's having any heart attacks over this, we're just having a bit of fun chewing the shit about movies (he said, stating the fucking obvious)...

I siad and hoped there might be a multiple ending DVD release and there ARE hints Snyder is going for it but as has been noted squiddy intersects several plot points so there would need to be dialogue pick-ups and other scene re-writes not JUST the NY special effect. (which will take colossal skill to balance between absurdity and black horror) If Zack has the balls to make the 2 endings I say more power to him.

Finally, crucial though the "reveal" and climax is, it's not the whole Watchmen story and all the Doc Manhatten and Silk Spectre and Nite Owl and Comedian and Rorschach stuff is going to be in there and it's HARDLY window dressing. hurrrmm.

The "squid" would've worked. If it was the corpse of a monstrous hideous Cthulu like alien with all of NY dead around it. Far better than a UFO, or anything that comes from pop culture. It has to be monumentally bizzare and radical and have the power to make you question reality.

From Dreiberg's cliched "NOOOO!" to Ozy's stupid unnecessary backstory to the new ending with Dr Manhattan and nukes... I'm sure a bunch of fanboys will cream over this because it looks like Watchmen. But it appears it won't have 1% of the intent, depth, or reasons that anyone loved it in the first place intact.

It sounds however like using Manhattan as the foil might not work either, for reasons others have stated.

So I have a suggestion to make, and I think it will solve the problem beautifully: Replace the squid or Dr. Manhattan with BILL AYERS. Think about it. All he wants to do is bomb America because he hates it so much. Actually, fuck it replace the squid with Barack Obama. Now you got an ending!

(Apologies for those fleeing political references of any stripe.)

Having said that, I think the rumour floating around, which postulates that this ending may be a fake one, meant to mislead audiences might be accurate, because contradictory information HAS been released in the past few months. Patrick Wilson (the actor who plays Nite Owl II) has said that the ending is entirely faithful to the book, so there actually be a giant squid in this film after all.

And finally, the squid is essential to the plot point of an extraterrestrial threat that unites the USA and the USSR and abates the impending nuclear holocaust. This "energy crisis" bs is exactly that: BS! Especially since one of the elements of the world of Watchmen is that electric cars have replaced gas-powered ones, thereby eliminating the need for oil.

Ozymandias destroying various cities all over the world using ATOMIC ENERGY goes against his goal of PREVENTING nuclear holocaust. This ending sounds like a fake or an alternate in my opinion.

Let alone the bloody carnage of many thousands dead and maimed IN THE CENTRE OF NEW YORK that doing squiddy correct would have to entail. And TBH this Nuclear LIKE (many haven't picked up on that word as it doesn't sound to me like a straight bunch of Nuclear explosions, nor would it be if it was derived from a complex machine Manhattan invented) anyway EVEN the Nuclear bomb LIKE scenario must at least imply HORROR and DEATH on a grand scale to hammer home the ends justify the means thinking of Ozy.

Would that a studio and Zack had the balls to show such a thing as squiddy and release it with the horror intact because the horrific carnage MUST be there or squiddy DOES merely look absurd and not unimaginably alien/strange/absurd AND terrifying and horrific. (which it absolutely MUST)

So save your "you just don't get it" for those who are foolishly predicting poor box office this far out.

I want a Movie as true to the source as possible but Moore realised it was impossible to pin ones hopes on perfection for a different medium quite some time ago and so do I.

So me, having read the book many times and speaking as someone who still enjoys it, I'll settle for watching an enthralling Roraschach, Nite Owl, Comedian, Silk Spectre and Manhattan on the Big Screen. (though clearly NOT Ozy as Snyder HAS looked to have fucked up badly there)

I still think a Watchmen DVD special edition with an alternate squiddy ending COULD be as bloody and horrific as it NEEDS to be and while I don't like the alternate ending there's no way I'm going to pass up seeing this adaptation when it has the likes of Rorschach and Manhattan living and breathing and kicking the living shit out of all the FAR more kiddie friendly comic book fare (excepting TDK) we've had of late.

And if anyone is in any doubt here is the best advice for those intersted in this Movie but who haven't got the TPB Graphic Novel.

GET THE FUCKING GRAPHIC NOVEL! NOW.

Because EVEN if the Movie is superb or merely average you WILL WANT to see the work as it was intended and in the form that has gained it so much respect.

Luckily as sales clearly show, a great many ARE already doing this buying the original AND there will be far more in the months to come. The trailer also worked and has aroused the huge interest that the book sales show.

As for Moore re-inventing the work of other authors, the main difference is Moore would still be a champion of reading the work of the original authors and not merely watching TV or Movie adaptations of them.

At the end of the day you should almost always go for the source not the adaptation if you like the material. (I can perhaps think of Puzo's Godfather as an exception where the Movie transcended the book though the book wasn't terrible and Godfather fans SHOULD read it as it is intersting but it DID get amusingly sidetracked with the Doctor and Vaginal Surgery sideplot.. Oh and Jaws was better than Benchley's Novel I'd hazzard, no doubt there are a few others, but as a rule go for the source.)

oh and P.S. NEVER say there will only be one adaptation of anything popular or well regarded. Time makes fools of us all.

I can well understand how making Manhattan the bad guy rankles as though he is clearly antagonized by Ozy's deliberate manipulation of him, his is the path and way of indifference and apathy towards humans as the Mars dialogue with Laurie AND his passive watching of Comedian in Nam clearly shows.

What I think they may do is highlight the Comedians "GOD HELP US ALL!" assessment of Manhattan and his speech to Moloch "I mean you FOUGHT that Big Blue Geek ! You know what his HEAD's like ! I tellya who KNOWS which way he'll jump if anybody MESSES with him... He might... He might just..." But I agree it doesn't quite fit but he WOULD go along with it as he does concur with Ozy's assesment of the greater damage of exposing the conspiracy after the event.

Another thing that absolutely HAS to be in the film is Nixon in the bunker with Liddy and Nixon talking with the General almost casually about the Megadeaths, showing the projections of losing the East Coast of America and Europe in the imminent holocaust. Otherwise Ozy will merely seem to be a stock megalomaniac madman who didn't have a HUGE REASON to do all this. (supremely fucked up though it is)

I also hope they keep the comment about finding those 2 post journalists dead in the garage with the "jewish names" as that is a superbly evocative and well done little snippet.

There's one way to find out: most excellent ninja, how do you feel about a possible adaptation of the Sinestro Corps War?

And, for the record, the V for Vendetta movie was pretty lame, too. Children of Fucking Men FTW. We'll NEVER get a decent Alan Moore movie adaptation.

"I see WATCHMEN as a novel, you see it as comic book that could potentially be marketed as a movie." FIRST. I'll defer to Alan Moore who said "GRAPHIC NOVELS' 'That pompous phrase was thought up by some idiot in the marketing department of DC. I prefer to call them Big Expensive Comics." So I dont't give a fuck what YOU refer to them as because Moore isn't embarrassed to know the Medium he is writing in and nor should he be. SECOND. What part of "GET THE FUCKING GRAPHIC NOVEL! NOW." Didn't you understand ? Was it too complex or couched in an obscure dialect ? I want to see this Movie because the characters and plot are fascinating, but I also know it will being more attention to the source. It might or might not stand on it's own as a damn good Movie but the source material isn't going anywhere and I certainly don't rate it as one of my facourite comics and reads because they are making this Movie.

"The fact that you want to show a more palatable holocaust to not upset viewers is ridiculous." What the fuck is your problem ? Is English your second language ? How many times do I have to spell it out to you ? I WANT them to do the Holocaust as it should be done with the full fucking horror intact. Reread my post I made that clear the first time I'm not going to keep parroting it because you didn't grasp it.

"It doesn't need the gore that's in the comic." My mistake it's YOU who wants to "show a more palatable holocaust" not me. Ridiculous indeed.

"but I simply don't buy the arguments made in favor of changing the ending." I'm NOT saying change the fucking ending. I'm going by the reviews already made and hints for months that the ending has ALREADY been changed. I haven't seen the Movie and neither have you so how it's going to piece together now is conjecture. If it were up to me I'd KEEP the ending intact but the best we can seem to hope for is a DVD release with the alternate ending so that's better than nothing in my book.

If you want to start hammering the Movie on the strength of the changed ending do so. You certainly won't be alone. But in my eyes it might STILL work as a very good Movie because even though I wished Snyder HAD stuck with Moores ending there's still a huge amount of Watchmen that seems to be still intact like Rorschach and Manhattan before the "reveal". And THAT is still going to be pretty damn good. Watchmen isn't brilliant just because of squiddy it's brilliant in it's TOTALITY.

"Your type of attitude would have stopped THE DARK KNIGHT from being made." On the contrary the more menacing Joker was always something I'd longed to see and the depiction of the Joker of "Arkham Asylum" and "The Killing Joke" is one I've always wanted to see on the screen. A dark malevolent force of sheer chaos.

But the point was you seemed to think Moore was above writing a "mere" comic. Wrong. He knows EXACTLY what he's writing, knows it's history it's charcters it's myths and shorthands and he isn't ashamed of it. He's also written a novel "Voice of the Fire" so he knows the difference. Moores point about Movie adaptations isn't based on snobbery but a recognition of the limitations of different Media and what is possible and what is not in each one.

So Ozy USES (as does Moore) the language and expectations of the Comic book world into which this World has already been thrust to use as his vehicle of destruction and salvation. In a World with a Giant Blue Superhero/God a Gaint Supervillain entity is not as absurd as it is in OUR world. (this mirrors Baccis very well taken point about Galactus, and I rewatched FF4 2 the other night and was still as annoyed about that myself)

I have serious problems about subverting Manhattan and serious worries about this "Black" thin Ozy but I can at least hope the Movie will be worth watching for Rorschach and all the other stuff even if it DOES turn out to be seriously flawed by Snyders re-imagining.

(And I REALLY hope Snyder DOESN'T overuse the slow-fast-mo takes. One or two of the iconic comic panels fine. But the trailer showed Nite Owl doing slow-fast-mo just for a fight sequence! It becomes as annoying as Matrixisation after a while when used as mere Movie punctuation.)