In Response to the Watchmen 2 Rumor

Ugh. I really, really didn’t want to weigh in on this, but since the Internet has been buzzing over the last day or so about a rumored sequel to Watchmen, I’m compelled to comment.

Okay, so Bleeding Cool’s Rich Johnston reported on February 3 that DC Comics is considering a sequel to Watchmen, the company’s best-selling publication. As you might remember, there was some restructuring at DC last year, with president and publisher Paul Levitz being relegated to a contributing editor/consultant role as Warner Bros. brand manager Diane Nelson stepped in as president of the newly created DC Entertainment. The website notes that Levitz has been against the idea of Watchmen offshoots, sequels or prequels, and with him gone, the company is free to pursue such projects under the leadership of Dan DiDio, DC’s senior vice president and executive editor. Reportedly, Watchmen creators Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons must be offered first refusal before any additional Watchmen material can be published. But since it’s pretty much a given that Moore and Gibbons would never agree to this (especially in Moore’s case), DC is pursuing other writers and artists to continue the Watchmen story. Again, this is still a rumor at this point until we receive official confirmation from DC.

But what about another movie? Sure, Zack Snyder’s Watchmen film adaptation didn’t do so well at the box office last year, but sequels were included in the contract language during the legal battle between Twentieth Century Fox and Warner Bros. leading up to that film’s release. Thankfully, Nikke Finke at Deadline Hollywood confirmed on February 4 that a second Watchmen film won’t be happening.

“There is no truth to anything related to a movie sequel. Not a chance by a longshot,” an unnamed insider told Finke. “With regards to the comics, well, I guess anything is possible. I’ll keep my opinion to myself as to whether it's a smart idea to do so.”

Hurm. Even if we entertain the idea that there’s some truth to this rumor, and that DC is actually considering more Watchmen comic books—which is very, very unlikely—what self-respecting artist or writer would dare sign on to a Watchmen sequel? That’s career suicide. DC would never find the kind of (willing) talent this project would require, and actively pursuing such a doomed enterprise makes no sense at all.

So, Internet, let’s file this under “unsubstantiated, unlikely rumor” and move on.