Snyder talks "Watchmen" casting

One of the more important topics he discussed was the casting. He was a little frustrated that he got scooped as he wanted to be the first to announce the cast at Comic-Con, but at the same time he's appreciative that this project has so much interest. When talking about the cast he went into a little detail about the character of Dr. Manhattan to be played by Billy Crudup. Dr. Manhattan is the only character in "Watchmen" who has any powers and as such may be the sole recipient of the movie's special effects budget. Manhattan's powers can be described as "godlike" and Snyder spoke specifically about scenes from the book involving Manhattan being 200 feet tall and stomping through the Vietnam jungle. Manhattan will be an all CGI character over the live performance much like what was done with the Silver Surfer in this summer's "Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer". Will he be naked most of the time? Snyder didn't say. He was able to confirm more members of the cast but not all of the roles have been filled.

Here is the cast of "Watchmen" as of today. Rather than cast people the exact age of the characters and using other actors to play their younger or older versions, Snyder opted to cast in the middle and age them up and down to fit the need. You may not recognize the names, but you probably recognize the faces. Despite what you read on IMDB or other sources, this is all the casting that has been confirmed. Anything else is rumor and speculation.

Dr. John Osterman / Dr. Manhattan - Billy Crudup

Billy Crudup will play Dr. Manhattan.

Edward Blake / The Comedian - Jeffrey Dean Morgan

Jeffrey Dean Morgan will play The Comedian.

Dan Dreiberg / the second Nite Owl - Patrick Wilson

Patrick Wilson will play Nite Owl.

Hollis Mason / the first Nite Owl - Stephen McHattie

Stephen McHattie will play Hollis Mason.

Laurie Juspeczyk / the second Silk Spectre - Malin Ackerman

Malin Ackerman will play the Silk Spectre.

Walter Kovacs / Rorschach - Jackie Earle Haley

Jackie Earle Haley will play Rorschach.

The knee-jerk reaction of many to a "Watchmen" film is, "That's going to suck," and I think the reason is that Hollywood has proven to us before that they have no respect for a core audience or source material and are only interested in selling as many tickets as possible. It may be distasteful but it's good business. What Zack Snyder has done is convince the studio that the best way to make money is to be true to the book and let the fans carry the banner of the film. The release date for "Watchmen" is March 6, 2009. Only then will we know if Snyder was able to hold on to his ambition through the production or if the studio pressure broke his spirit.

Join our discussion on this topic