David Hayter, co-writer on 2009's Watchmen, revealed in an interview that the original ending for the film would have been completely different than the one fans saw on the big screen. A live-action adaptation of Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons seminal comic book Watchmen had been in the works for decades. Several notable filmmakers, including Terry Gilliam, Paul Greengrass, and Darren Aronofsky, had all been attached to direct the film at some point over the decades it had been in production. The comic proved to be particularly tricky to develop, with some arguing (including Alan Moore himself) that the comic couldn't be adapted for film. However, a live-action film of Watchmen finally came out in 2009, directed by Zack Snyder.
The ending of Snyder's Watchmen has some significant differences when compared to its source material, which is widely considered to be the most controversial aspect of the adaptation. Crafting the final act of Watchmen was a reoccurring challenge for all the filmmakers involved with the project over the years. The comic ends with the reveal that Ozymandias had constructed a giant squid and dropped it on Manhattan, hoping to extinguish the tensions between the United States and the Soviet Union by making them think the world was under attack by aliens. Snyder's version contains the same attack, but this time Ozymandias made it appear like Dr. Manhattan was responsible. The change was controversial among the fandom, though there are merits to both Watchmen endings.
In an interview with Script Apart, Watchmen co-writer David Hayter (who himself was attached to direct the adaptation at one point), revealed that the ending he had penned while Paul Greengrass was slated to direct Watchmen was even more different than Snyder's ending. Ozymandias would have created a fake projection of Dr. Manhattan that attacked several cities, but his time to revel in his success would have been short-lived. Nite Owl would get the upper hand on Ozymandias by crushing him with his ship Archie, killing the world's smartest man moments after he killed millions.
This news drops at a time where Watchmen has seen a surge of relevancy in the pop culture landscape. Damon Lindelof's 2019 Watchmen HBO series, which serves as a sequel to the comic, received widespread critical acclaim. Some argue that Lindelof's series thematically matches the source material more than Snyder's film. Given the success of the film and television series, its probably for the best that the film didn't go with its original planned ending. Despite its rocky history, time has proven that a thematically accurate adaptation of Watchmen is very much possible.
The ending of the film during the Greengrass-era has a bit of a "have-your-cake-and-eat-it-too" situation. Killing Ozymandias would have been a much more palatable ending for general audiences, but would have stripped the film of the gut punch that the comic's ending had. Ozymandias surviving, and "getting away with it" is one of the key elements that contribute to the uneasiness that the source material creates in the reader. That proposed ending would have removed the complex morality shown in the comic, and stripped the audience of the question that all who experience Watchmen ask: In the end, did Ozymandias do the right thing?
Source: Script Apart
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