| Watchmen Chapter I | |
| Director: | Brandon Vietti |
| Music: | Tim Kelly |
| Editing: | Cris Mertens |
| Production Companies: | --> |
| Distributor: | Warner Bros. Home Entertainment |
| Runtime: | 84 minutes |
Watchmen Chapter I is a 2024 American animated superhero film based on the DC Comics limited series of the same name co-created and illustrated by Dave Gibbons (with co-creator and author Alan Moore choosing to remain uncredited).[1] .
Produced by DC Studios, Paramount Pictures, and Warner Bros. Animation and distributed by Warner Bros. Home Entertainment, it is the 55th installment in the DC Universe Animated Original Movies line.
The film is written by J. Michael Straczynski and directed by Brandon Vietti. It stars a large ensemble cast including Matthew Rhys, Katee Sackhoff, Titus Welliver, Troy Baker, Adrienne Barbeau, and Michael Cerveris.
Watchmen Chapter I retells the story of the first half of the original 12-issue Watchmen limited series.
| Voice actor[2] | Character | |
|---|---|---|
| Matthew Rhys | Dan Dreiberg / Nite Owl II, Photographer #3 | |
| Katee Sackhoff | Laurie Juspeczyk / Silk Spectre II | |
| Titus Welliver | Rorschach / Walter Kovacs | |
| Troy Baker | Adrian Veidt / Ozymandias, Minister, Benny Anger | |
| Rick D. Wasserman | Edward Blake / Comedian, Male Citizen #1, Photographer #2 | |
| Adrienne Barbeau | Sally Jupiter / Silk Spectre, TV Broadcaster | |
| Corey Burton | Captain Metropolis, Forbes, American Newscaster | |
| Michael Cerveris | Jonathan Osterman / Dr. Manhattan, Father | |
| Geoff Pierson | Hollis Mason / Nite Owl | |
| Yuri Lowenthal | Wally Weaver, Criminal #1, Knot Top #2 | |
| Jeffrey Combs | Edgar Jacobi / Moloch, British Newscaster, Photographer #1 | |
| Phil LaMarr | Comic Book Narrator, Bernie, Security Guard | |
| John Marshall Jones | Hooded Justice, General #1, Criminal #2 | |
| Kari Wahlgren | Janey Slater, Female Knot Top, Female Citizen #1 | |
| Jason Spisak | Doug Roth, President Kennedy, Restaurant Cook | |
| Max Koch | Detective Joe Bourquin, Bernard, President Nixon | |
| Kelly Hu | Yvonne, Vietnamese Woman | |
| Grey DeLisle | Spanish Newscaster, Female Citizen #2 | |
| Dwight Schultz | Detective Steve Fine, Happy Harry |
Warner Bros. announced in April 2017 that they would develop an R-rated animated film based on the comic book.[3]
A teaser trailer was released on June 13, 2024, and revealed it to be a two-part film.[4] [5]
Watchmen Chapter I received a digital release on August 13, 2024 and Blu-ray and 4K Ultra HD release on August 27, 2024.[6]
On Rotten Tomatoes, the film has an approval rating of 88% based on 8 reviews, with an average rating of 7.3/10.[7]
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".[8]
Watchmen Chapter II was originally scheduled for late 2024, but was later moved to sometime in 2025.[9]