Informed Art - Comic-Con Revealed

Self-proclaimed jackass Billy Crudup plays all-powerful Dr. Manhattan in Watchmen.

The panel to kick off Friday was the highly anticipated “Watchmen.” Fans had been waiting out over night to be up front before the entire cast and glimpse more footage from the film. On hand were director Zack Snyder, original comic illustration Dave Gibbons, and actors Malin Akerman (Silk Specctre II), Jeffrey Dean Morgan (The Comedian), Carla Gugino (Silk Spectre), Jackie Earle Haley (Rorschach), Billy Crudup (Dr. Manhattan), Patrick Wilson (Night Owl II), and Matthew Goode (Ozymandias). Instead of showing the trailer, which debuted last week on the Net, Snyder had additional footage from the film to illustrate the faithful adaptation of the comic to the screen. In the footage, visual effects fans got a longer glimpse of Dr. Manhattan’s attack during Vietnam and a longer look at the moving ink blots of the mask of Rorschach. Additionally, the fans got the first look at the iconic image of the blood splatter hitting the smiley face pin.

The Watchmen Owl Ship from the convention floor.

Snyder confirmed that there is material new to the film that was not in the original comic. A fan asked about a rumor that the DVD would feature all the pre-production work from all the previous directors that worked on the film. Snyder said that it was the first time he had heard that but thought it was a great idea and challenged someone in the audience to do it. Crudup joked that it took some time to get over the embarrassment of playing a character who is a nearly naked, giant, omniscient blue man when he’s a 5’9” jackass.