Silver is right that changes to V for Vendetta helped to ensure that the film adaptation, directed by James McTeigue, was satisfying to fans and casual viewers alike but Snyders Watchmen wasnt a complete copy and paste job. The final act of Watchmen was often the primary hurdle for any writer attempting to develop a faithful screenplay of the graphic novel which features Adrian Veidt (aka Ozymandias) faking an extraterrestrial attack (for the purpose of uniting warring Earth nations against a common threat) by teleporting a giant genetically engineered squid creature into the heart of New York City.
Writers David Hayter and Alex Tse both made significant alterations to that challenging final act replacing the infamous squid with weaponized energy reactors that make it appear as though Dr. Manhattan turned on humanity and destroyed major cities around the globe (establishing him as the target of humanitys now united efforts). While many fans derided the change as a cop-out, others felt as though Tses version was actually tidier but just as impactful as Moores original concept.
Yet, Silver maintains that Gilliam had an even better solution one that would have been a significant departure from the source material:
What Terry had done, and it was a Sam Hamm scriptwho had written a script that everybody loved for the first Batmanand then he brought in a guy whod worked for him to do work on it [Charles McKeown, co-writer of "Brazil"]. What he did was he told the story as-is, but instead of the whole notion of the intergalactic thing which was too hard and too silly, what he did was he maintained that the existence of Doctor Manhattan had changed the whole balance of the world economy, the world political structure. He felt that THAT character really altered the way reality had been. He had the Ozymandias character convince, essentially, the Doctor Manhattan character to go back and stop himself from being created, so there never would be a Doctor Manhattan character. He was the only character with real supernatural powers, he went back and prevented himself from being turned into Doctor Manhattan, and in the vortex that was created after that occurred these characters from Watchmen only became characters in a comic book.
Of course, this doesnt mean that Dr. Manhattan wasnt in the movie at all. Silver seems to imply that where Ozymandias would teleport a squid (or energy reactor) into New York City killing millions of innocent people he would, instead, persuade Dr. Manhattan to go back in time to prevent his former self, Jon Osterman, from ever being trapped inside the nuclear test chamber. Considering that Dr. Manhattan is the only actual superhuman in the film, responsible for years of influencing global politics, his absence would then drastically alter the films 1980s present.
Its an interesting idea, and one that could have easily worked; though, fans might have rolled their eyes at the part about the Watchmen heroes becoming displaced characters in a comic book.
Silver elaborated further on the fates of Rorschach, Nite Owl, and Silk Spectre and how the rest of the world would perceive them (following Dr. Manhattans reality-bending change):
So the three characters, I think it was Rorschach and Nite Owl and Silk Spectre, theyre all of the sudden in Times Square and theres a kid reading a comic book. They become like the people in Times Square dressing up like characters as opposed to really BEING those characters. Theres a kid reading the comic book and hes like, Hey, youre just like in my comic book. It was very smart, it was very articulate, and it really gave a very satisfying resolution to the story, but it just didnt happen. Lost to time [...] But I did like the [2009] movie, very much. Zack did great stuff in it!
The Dr. Manhattan aspect might provide a satisfying resolution but its hard to imagine how Gilliam would have actually made that plan for Rorschach and Nite Owl and Silk Spectre work on the big screen. Would everyday moviegoers and comic fans have considered such an on-the-nose connection to superhero lore satisfying especially considering the world is left entirely unaware of its alternate history (and the heroes who fought for it)?
Let us know which version of Watchmen you prefer. As for the future (read: past) of the series, well keep you updated on whether or not the Before Watchmen prequel comic ever makes it to the big or small screen.
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