After reports of a Watchmen that was running over three hours, it’s no wonder that time has been shortened to a leaner version. Although the length has not been accepted by Warner Brothers, Zack and Deborah Snyder sound confident in an interview with SCI FI Wire. And don’t worry, any extra footage is being released with the DVD.

Zack and Deborah Snyder are the husband and wife couple behind Watchmen; he is the director and she a producer. She tells the SCI FI Wire that “We’re getting really close. We’re at two hours and 35 minutes.” Zack adds “The movie's pretty long ... compared to 300, which was an hour and 58 minutes. The director's cut [of Watchmen] is about three hours and 10 minutes long. It has even more than the theatrical version as far as the detail that gets even closer to the graphic novel." I’m sure plenty of fanboys would have been quite keen on those three hours and ten minutes, but that is besides the point. No doubt that director’s cut will be on the DVD.

The director has been working with the comic-within-a-comic storyline, Tales of the Black Freighter. The adapted short is fully animated and might be released on DVD with Watchmen in March! The Black Freighter storyline will definitely be released with the DVD of the film in two forms: one as a separate story and one edited into the actual run-time of the film. Mr. Snyder claims “The Black Freighter version of the movie that we're working on--which has the ins and outs of the Black Freighter comic book woven through it, with an animated version of the Black Freighter--will be about three hours and 40 minutes. So there's a huge epic version of Watchmen, which will probably come out after the movie's theatrical release, for hardcore [fans].” Well, hopefully, once the public sees this film they are all going to become “hardcore fans.”

Mr. Snyder speaks more on Black Freighter: “As you watch it, you can have this experience where it's like the graphic novel. I haven't shied away from trying to enjoy the artwork. It's been fun to make some of those pictures real." Ok, if you’re not frothing at the mouth in anticipation by now, I don’t know what would make you do so. Here’s hoping they release that “epic version” of the flick in theaters!