Alan Moore recently revealed that he has instructed DC Comics to donate his royalties from HBO’s Watchmen adaptation to Black Lives Matter.
Moore confirmed he advised DC to pass on his cut of the revenues from all film and TV adaptations inspired by his works (including Watchmen) to BLM in an interview with The Telegraph. “I no longer wish [my royalties] to even be shared with [my co-creators],” he said. “I don’t really feel, with the recent films, that they have stood by what I assumed were their original principles. So I asked for DC Comics to send all of the money from any future TV series or films to Black Lives Matter.” Moore co-created Watchmen with artist Dave Gibbons in 1986, and the 12-issue series was soon hailed by critics and readers alike as one of the greatest superhero comics of all time. Moore subsequently fell out with DC over the terms of his Watchmen contract and wasn’t involved with any of the publisher’s more recent efforts to expand the franchise.
Moore also declined to support Zack Snyder’s 2009 live-action Watchmen adaptation, requesting that DC Entertainment and Warner Bros. remove his name from the credits. As such, the big screen blockbuster lists Gibbons as Watchmen‘s co-creator and illustrator, without making any mention of Moore. Moore’s disassociation with the Watchmen movie seemingly did little to dim the cast and crew’s enthusiasm for the project, however, and star Patrick Wilson was quick to highlight its impact on wider superhero cinema in a recent interview. “You need movies [like Watchmen] to go so dark that then Avengers can go so light. I do believe in that,” he said.
Alan Moore Opens Up About HBO’s Watchmen Series
Moore was arguably even less supportive of HBO’s 2019 Watchmen limited series, which creator Damon Lindelof positioned as a sequel to the original comics. The celebrated scribe recalled his only interaction with Lindelof regarding the Watchmen show in October 2022, which saw Moore send a harshly-worded response to an introductory letter he received from Lindelof. “I got back with a very abrupt and probably hostile reply telling him that I’d thought that Warner Bros. were aware that they, nor any of their employees, shouldn’t contact me again for any reason,” Moore said.
Statements such as this, coupled with Moore’s continued refusal to accept any royalties, all but confirm that the comic book writer won’t be getting behind the recently announced Watchmen animated movie, either. This project was unveiled at San Diego Comic-Con 2023 and is targeting a 2024 release date.
All nine episodes of Watchmen are currently streaming on Max.
Source: Telegraph