| Director: | Brandon Vietti |
| Music: | Tim Kelly |
| Editing: | Cris Mertens |
| Studio: | |
| Distributor: | Warner Bros. Home Entertainment |
| Country: | United States |
| Language: | English |
Watchmen Chapter I is a 2024 American adult animated superhero film directed by Brandon Vietti and written by J. Michael Straczynski. It stars an ensemble cast including Matthew Rhys, Katee Sackhoff, Titus Welliver, Troy Baker, Adrienne Barbeau, and Michael Cerveris. Produced by Warner Bros. Animation, Paramount Pictures, and DC Entertainment,[1] and distributed by Warner Bros. Home Entertainment, the film is based on the DC Comics limited series Watchmen co-created and illustrated by Dave Gibbons with co-creator and author Alan Moore choosing to remain uncredited.[2] Gibbons served as a consulting producer on the film. Animation for the film was provided by Studio Mir.
After veteran superhero known as the Comedian is killed by an unknown individual, the police tries to investigate the crime, but cannot not find any clues or sources. Rorschach, who is investigating the Comedian's murder, suspects that someone is hunting and killing superheroes, after which he decides to warn his comrades to be careful.
At the same time, he tries to investigate who the killer is and interrogates one of the former superheroes, torturing him and investigating whether he was the killer. As Rorschach investigates, the viewer sees flashbacks from the other individuals' pasts, how each of them became a superhero, what they experienced after the ban on superheroes, and what their future fate is.
Dr. Manhattan is suspected of causing cancer in all people, after which he exiles himself in Mars. Dan Dreiberg (formerly known as Nite Owl) and Laurie Juspeczyk (Silk Spectre) are trying to start a romantic relationship at this time. Meanwhile, Roschach seeks to interrogate one of the killer's personal informants, only to find him dead, as the killer frames Rorschach by calling the police on him, after which he is arrested and unmasked for the public. During the end credits, the viewer hears radio recordings of old superheroes from the 1940s and as a post-credits scene, a trailer for the second chapter of the film is shown.
| Voice actor[3] | Character | |
|---|---|---|
| Appearing in both parts | ||
| Matthew Rhys | Dan Dreiberg / Nite Owl II / Sam Hollis | |
| Katee Sackhoff | Laurie Juspeczyk / Silk Spectre II / Sandra Hollis | |
| Titus Welliver | Walter Kovacs / Rorschach | |
| Troy Baker | Adrian Veidt / Ozymandias | |
| Rick D. Wasserman | Edward Blake / Comedian | |
| Adrienne Barbeau | Sally Jupiter / Silk Spectre I | |
| Michael Cerveris | Jonathan Osterman / Dr. Manhattan | |
| Geoff Pierson | Hollis Mason / Nite Owl I | |
| Kari Wahlgren | Female Knot Top | |
| Yuri Lowenthal | Knot Top #2 | |
| Phil LaMarr | Comic Book Narrator, Bernie | |
| Jason Spisak | Doug Roth | |
| John Marshall Jones | General #1, | |
| Max Koch | Bernard, President Nixon | |
| Part One | ||
| Matthew Rhys | Photographer #3 | |
| Troy Baker | Minister, Benny Anger | |
| Rick D. Wasserman | Male Citizen #1, Photographer #2 | |
| Adrienne Barbeau | TV Broadcaster | |
| Michael Cerveris | Father | |
| Corey Burton | Captain Metropolis, Forbes, American Newscaster | |
| Yuri Lowenthal | Wally Weaver, Criminal #1 | |
| Jeffrey Combs | Edgar Jacobi / Moloch the Mystic, British Newscaster, Photographer #1 | |
| Phil LaMarr | Security Guard | |
| John Marshall Jones | Hooded Justice, Criminal #2 | |
| Kari Wahlgren | Janey Slater, Female Citizen #1 | |
| Jason Spisak | President John F. Kennedy, Restaurant Cook | |
| Max Koch | Detective Joe Bourquin | |
| Kelly Hu | Yvonne, Vietnamese Woman | |
| Grey Griffin | Spanish Newscaster, Female Citizen #2 | |
| Dwight Schultz | Detective Steve Fine, Happy Harry | |
| Part Two | ||
| Matthew Rhys | Max Shea, Michael Stephens, Prisoner #1 | |
| Troy Baker | Derf, Laurence Schexnayder, Gerald Grice, News Announcer | |
| Adrienne Barbeau | Police Dispatcher | |
| Michael Cerveris | Police Guard #2 | |
| Geoff Pierson | Prison Guard #1 | |
| John Marshall Jones | Otis, Malcolm Long, | |
| Zehra Fazal | Hira Manish, Newscaster | |
| Yuri Lowenthal | Seymour David, Bully #1 | |
| Phil LaMarr | Male Citizen #1 | |
| Kari Wahlgren | Sylvia Kovacs | |
| Phil Fondacaro | Tom Ryan / Big Figure | |
| Max Koch | Lawrence Andrews | |
| Grey Griffin | Female Citizen #1, Advisor #1 | |
| Long Nguyen | Attendant #1 | |
| Jason Spisak | Hector Godfrey, Bully #2 | |
It was reported in April 2017 that Warner Bros. would develop an R-rated animated film based on the comic book series.[4] It was officially confirmed in 2023 that an animated film adaptation was in development and would be released in 2024.[5] A teaser trailer was released on June 13, 2024, with it being revealed to be a two-film adaptation.[6] [7] Director Brandon Vietti praised the animation work done by Studio Mir, stating in an interview that "It was a kind of material and filmmaking that I don't think the studio had approached before, but we had a lot of great discussions about it and they really rose to the challenge."[8]
Watchmen Chapter I received a digital release on August 13, 2024.[9] The film was released on Blu-ray and 4K Ultra HD on August 27, 2024.[10]
On Rotten Tomatoes, the film has an approval rating of 92% based on 12 reviews, with an average rating of 7.4/10.[11] William Bibbiani of TheWrap felt that the film respectfully adapted the story, but struggled to properly convey its complexity and described the visual aesthetic as "serviceable but not entirely effective".[12] Brad Cook of Flickering Myth agreed, calling the film a "very faithful adaptation" with a visual style that "hews closely to artist Dave Gibbons' well-regarded depictions of the characters and the alternate 1985 timeline they inhabit".[13]
A single sequel entitled Watchmen Chapter II covers the second half of the story, completing the retelling of the 12-issue maxiseries. Chapter II was released on Digital HD on November 26, 2024, and on Ultra HD Blu-ray, Blu-ray, and DVD on December 3.[14]