Watchmen isn’t scheduled to hit theaters until March 6, 2009, but the studio and the director are already making some solid plans for the DVD releases for the film. Yes, I said releases.
Director Zack Snyder recently spoke with the New York Times and gave an early indication of what the studio has planned for the film’s release on DVD.
Snyder confirmed that Warner Brothers has some unusual plans for the big-budget film that tells the story of a group of retired superheroes who are tied to a conspiracy that could change history. One of the biggest twists in their marketing campaign is a separate-but-related picture that Snyder is directing and that Warner plans to distribute exclusively on DVD.
The second film, tentatively called Tales of the Black Freighter, follows a side Watchmen storyline about a shipwreck and will arrive in stores five days after the main movie rolls out in theaters. The DVD will also include a documentary-style film called Under the Hood that will delve into the characters’ back stories.
In the article Snyder went on to give more details about the DVD releases:
The “Watchmen” film, Mr. Synder said, will probably generate at least three DVDs: “Tales of the Black Freighter,” followed about four months later by release of “Watchmen” itself, and then an “ultimate” edition in which the two are edited together into one megamovie.
“The überfans of this property are going to go crazy for that,” Mr. Snyder said.
“I thought the ‘Black Freighter’ story would never see the light of day,” he said. “The main picture is nearing three hours long and I know I have a fight on my hands just with that.”
In addition, the studio plans a dozen 22- to 26-minute Webisodes to help make the complex story easier for the uninitiated to digest. Called “The Watchmen Motion Comic,” it will be a panel-by-panel slide show of the graphic novel narrated by an actor.
Snyder went on to say that the webisodes would probably also be combined and released on DVD at a later date as well. He also mentioned that the film is clocking in at almost three hours right now.
The full article is an interesting read. You can head over here to check it out.
Yeah, the graphic novel has the Black Freighter story told on the side as a young boy reads it at a news stand while a newspaper guy complains about the stuff going on in the world.
It was interesting to say the least, and no way they could include it in the movie being released.
I like the idea though of seeing it integrated into one mega-movie…although depending on how long the Black Freighter story goes…that’s going to be pushing four hours.