All about the three different versions of Watchmen coming out this year

Watchmen will run about 2 hours and 37 minutes when it’s released in theaters on March 6th. But that will be only the first of several versions of the film, which is envisioned for multiple home-video releases on DVD and Blu-ray Hi-Def, director Zack Snyder and wife/producer Deborah Snyder told reporters on Wednesday at a press conference in Beverly Hills.

According to Sci-Fi Wire’s report, after the theatrical release of Watchmen, the director stated that there will be a director’s cut disc release, which will restore scenes cut from the theatrical run and clock in at 3 hours and 10 minutes. Deborah Snyder followed that up by adding that the first disc release (DVD and Blu-ray) will happen around the time of San Diego Comic-Con (July 2009).

Finally, an ultimate Watchmen cut will be released this fall, which will incorporate the animated movie Tales of the Black Freighter right into the live-action, in the same way the graphic novel incorporates it into it’s narrative, and that will include special scenes shot to take viewers into the animation and back to live-action. That version could run as long as 3 hours and 25 minutes.

“[For] that version of the movie, … when we were up there [in Vancouver], we physically shot the ins and outs scenes at the newsstand that go into the movie,” Zack Snyder said. “There’s … scenes where our characters pass the newsstand, and then we pick up action at the newsstand that gets us into … The Black Freighter. And then … shots where you, like, go into it, and then it comes to life, and you start following the Black Freighter story. And then come back into the movie.”

Producer Deborah Snyder also mentioned during the press conference that possible future special edition disc releases may feature custom-formed packaging, including a Rorschach case or an Owl Ship case. She also confirmed that they have been working on a documentary that will be on at least one of this year’s releases, that profiles vigilantism, and talks about actual people, like New York subway shooter Bernhard Goetz and The Guardian Angels.