Anyone who has read Watchmen understands why there has never been any attempt at serializing the characters or telling other stories: it is simply so perfect that any follow up would simply detract from the original work. This is the same reason Alan Moore distanced himself from the film as much as possible, already having seen two of his works, V For Vendetta and the horrendous League of Extraordinary Gentlemen get chewed up by Hollywood. So when word came down yesterday that there was the possibility for prequels and spin-offs, if you listened hard enough, you could hear the scream of millions around the globe. But now I will take this time to tell you to relax: it turns out that it probably isn't true.

Nikki Finke over at Deadline Hollywood has received word from a source claiming that there will be no attempts to franchise the property, saying, "There is no truth to anything related to a movie sequel. Not a chance by a longshot. With regards to the comics, well, I guess anything is possible. I'll keep my opinion to myself as to whether it's a smart idea to do so." The story began yesterday when it was rumored that the senior vice president and executive editor of DC Comics, Dan DiDio, had made expansion of the Watchmen universe his own personal "pet project."

Thank. God. While relief washes over the masses of comic book fans, however, there is a question that should be asked: why does anyone think it would have been a good idea in the first place? Yes, the comic is the best selling in the history of DC, but the movie, by all accounts, was a flop, the end of it's box office run leaving the film still more than $20 million under the film's production budget. And while yes, sequels tend to outsell their predecessors, no fan with any loyalty to the comic would ever go see a manufactured Hollywood expansion. But fortunately for us, we don't have to worry our pretty little heads about that anymore.