I hadn't heard about this. While I'm certainly curious, I'm also kind of apprehensive. Sure, it's just a comic, but it's 400 pages, every chapter is told from a different character's perspective, and in between chapters there are invented primary source documents -- memoir excerpts, police reports, newspaper clippings -- filled with dense text providing backstory and context. There isn't much fighting, the superheros themselves aren't all that cool (and none, except one, have any special powers)... I donno. There are a few story arcs that could be chopped out without doing too much damage to the overall plot, but they're the ones that do the most to humanize what's going on.

It's going to be tough to adapt well, and even harder to turn into a commercial success. I think Hellboy's source material can be treated seriously or frivolously, so it lends itself to ambitious screen adaptations; it can always fall back on the "stupid action movie" formula. Watchmen doesn't have that luxury. It's got to succeed or fail as an adult movie. Unfortunately, I know where I'd put my money.

Although not a comic book movie, I wonder what your take is on the John Woo Metroid option. Will there be slow motion birds on that wayward planet?

I also noticed that Charlize Theron has signed on to be a live action Aeon Flux. Thinking back, I wonder if Uma wouldn't be a better choice, since she was stick figure-ish. This could be just the disaster of a movie to cancel out that academy award.

The only conclusions I've come up with re the Watchmen is that 1) it will never actually happen, or 2) they'll market it not as a comic book film, but as some sort of crime noir/weird-ass Arnofsky movie. (Director of Pi, which wasn't exactly a commercial fave.) Chalk me up under apprehensive.

Kriston, you're probably right that Watchmen'll never get out of development. Metroid... well, yeesh. I wonder what materials Nintendo will be sending to the franchise's new licensees? I'm picturing a plain white sheet of paper with nothing on it but four neatly typed words: "female space bounty hunter". That's about it for the property.

The Jolie/Aeon Flux thing is exciting though, as I'd love to see that woman get killed. Maybe that's the project Mr. Aronofsky should be working on, what with his capacity for imaginatively repurposing power tools.

Oh god... I followed the links far enough to get to a Watchmen prototype screenplay. It opens with terrorists seizing the statue of liberty, and the characters -- now working together, in a group that calls themselves "The Watchmen", fighting together, spouting lines like "why do I get all the glamor jobs?" and "joke's on you!" (That last one is from The Comedian -- see, he's talking about jokes. it's funny!)

Hopefully that's just a script from a fanboy who didn't understand the book. If not... ugh

Seizing the statue of liberty in the opening scene? That's so G.I.Joe The Movie.