Jumpin' Jupiter

Of all the buzz-worthy properties buzzing about this year's Comic-Con, perhaps the buzziest is Watchmen, Zack Snyder's eagerly awaited big screen adaptation of the landmark graphic novel by Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons.

Even with the first trailer still fresh in our minds, and the film's official website just re-launched, there was still plenty of other fresh information to impart to the fan masses at the Con. So much so that Cinematical posted not one but two reports on the official Watchmen panel. Highlights included:

- Extended clips showed why this movie won't be anywhere near a PG rating, including Dr. Manhattan (Billy Crudup) "kicking lots of ass in Vietnam". (And remember, Dr. Manhattan is big, blue and bald. And naked.)
- A look at the mask of Rorschach (Jackie Earle Haley), which can change its freaky inkblot visage, in action.
- Regarding Patrick Wilson's Night Owl: "Yes, he does have a paunch." Too bad for us Wilson watchers.
- Some sexy moments between a redheaded Carla Gugino as Sally Jupiter (a.k.a. the original Silk Spectre; that's her in the accompanying illustration, by artist James Jean) and a sleazy Jeffrey Dean Morgan as the Comedian, who had this to say about getting into character: "I found getting in the costume and sticking a cigar in my mouth really got me in the mood to kill people".
- Most of the sets were real, not green screen, as in Snyder's 300.
- And finally: Matthew Goode (currently in Brideshead Revisited) was told this by a friend when he was cast as Ozymandias: "Looks like you're playing another gay, but this one's a stoner".

Watchmen opens in theaters March 6, 2009.