Watchmen Animated Movie: Chapter 1 Review & Chapter 2 Delay!

Get ready for a wild ride into the world of Watchmen! A new animated adaptation is hitting screens, splitting the iconic graphic novel into two parts!

Watchmen: Chapters 1 and 2

This isn't your grandpappy's Watchmen adaptation. After the 2009 live-action film and HBO series, DC is diving into animation to bring us a new take on Alan Moore's groundbreaking story. Chapter 1 was released in August 2024, both digitally (August 13th) and on Blu-ray/4K Ultra HD (August 27th).

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Watchmen: Chapter 1 Review

Rorsharch sat in front of a city in the Watchmen animated movie trailer Image

Critics gave it a solid 92% on Rotten Tomatoes, better than Zack Snyder's live-action movie, which earned only 65%. While Chapter 1 stuck pretty closely to the graphic novel's plot, this adaptation was so close to the 2009 movie! That was the most common complaint; it didn't exactly break new ground, especially after fans already had that earlier adaptation.

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Watchmen Chapter 2 Delay

Originally, Chapter 2 was slated for a 2024 release, but alas, it's been pushed back to 2025. No official date yet, but hopefully, we'll see it in the first half of 2025. The delay probably means they are really focused on making this sequel awesome!

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Star-Studded Voice Cast

Batman (left, foreground) holds up Watchmen smiley face pin; Rorschach (right, background) looms over his shoulder Image

This ain't your average voice cast. We’re talking some seriously big names!

Matthew Rhys (The Americans, Perry Mason) as Dan Dreiberg/Nite Owl II
Katee Sackhoff (Battlestar Galactica, The Mandalorian) as Laurie Juspeczyk/Silk Spectre II
Titus Welliver (Bosch) as Rorschach/Walter Kovacs
Troy Baker (The Last of Us games) as Adrian Veidt/Ozymandias
Rick D Wasserman as Edward Blake/The Comedian

Plus, a whole bunch of other amazing voice actors!

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Watchmen Chapter 1 Plot

Members of the Watchmen superhero team gather around in the DC animated feature Image

The Watchmen graphic novel came out between 1986 and 1987. It's often cited as one of the greatest graphic novels ever written, so it wasn't surprising that it created so much hype.

This adaptation took Dave Gibbons' iconic artwork to another level!

The story, set in 1985, kicks off with the murder of The Comedian, and shows those masked vigilantes as they’re pushed back into action!

Chapter 1 ends on a serious cliffhanger! That's just enough to give audiences the most exciting end, Rorschach gets blamed for a murder.

Watchmen Chapter 2 Setup

Chapter 2, is probably gonna keep that storyline intact with the mysteries and events that are sure to captivate fans. Expect even more revelations.

Trailers and Release Dates

Fans got a small sneak peek of what was to come back in June 2024 with that initial teaser trailer. They also got a bigger view of Chapter 1 with a red-band trailer in July 2024!

Sadly there is no trailer yet for Chapter 2, but one is sure to come along in 2025

Fans who can't get enough Watchmen should be very excited to see what DC Animation has brought. It might be an unforgettable take on Alan Moore, Dave Gibbons, and John Higgins. For sure these new movies give viewers something new! For anyone interested in Watchmen there's never been a better time to jump into the series and these releases show that you don't have to wait for Chapter 2. The wait will be less unbearable. Check out this unique approach to how stories of superheroes can play out.