The Animated Watchmen Chapter 2 Launches On December 3, Preorders Now Live

It’s the end of the world in the upcoming Blu-ray release of Watchmen: Chapter 2, and no one is feeling fine. Based on the popular comic book series of the same name, the second part of the animated Watchmen film saga comes to an end on December 3, and it’s now available to preorder on 4K Blu-ray through Amazon.

$40

The Watchmen: Chapter 2 4K Blu-ray edition will include the 4K UHD and digital download formats of the movie. It also includes three special features:

• Dave Gibbons and Watchmen: Endgame
• The Art of Adaptation: Building to the Final Act
• Designing Watchmen

You can preorder the 4K UHD edition for $40 at Amazon. A $30 standard edition Blu-ray is also available to preorder, and includes all the same special features.

While Watchmen was previously adapted into live-action by Man of Steel director Zack Snyder in 2009, the recent animated versions are a more faithful version of the classic comic books by Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons. The animation captures the artistic style of Gibbons, and with a mix of computer-generated assistance, it does look striking in motion. There’s an ensemble cast attached to this project as well, and it includes names like Titus Welliver as the violent vigilante Rorschach, Matthew Rhys as the Batman-like Nite Owl, Katee Sackhoff as Silk Spectre, Michael Cerveris as Dr. Manhattan, and several others. In case you missed it, you can also pick up Watchmen: Chapter 1 for $30 on Blu-ray.

Watchmen Chapter 1 and Chapter 2 Blu-rays

For those of you who are new to Watchmen, the comics originally deconstructed the idea of superheroes and mixed in a murder mystery with Cold War-era paranoia and existential crises. It’s very nihilistic in tone, but it also has one of the best twists of modern-day superhero entertainment near the end of its story.

Since it was first published in 1986, the Watchmen universe has expanded with several prequel series, character cameos in mainline DC Universe continuity, and a well-received sequel TV series developed by Lost’s Damon Lindelof. There’s even a lesser-known animated motion comic version of the story. As for the original graphic novel, it’s available in multiple formats, ranging from affordable paperbacks to elaborate hardcover editions loaded with bonus materials.

In addition to Watchmen, several of Moore’s other comic book projects have also been translated into film. V for Vendetta is still a very violent, visceral, and vividly visualized version of the story starring an antihero with a veiled visage, and The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen starring Sean Connery is way better than you remember it to be. On top of that, there’s an entire library of Moore’s work to read though that hasn’t made it to the big screen, so for some strange tales, check out his work on Swamp Thing alongside novels like The Great When, Jerusalem, and Voice of the Fire.

Other Watchmen adaptations + V for Vendetta

Watchmen graphic novels + more Alan Moore comics/graphic novels

Alan Moore Novels