It has long been reported that Mission: Impossible star Tom Cruise almost starred in Warner Bros.’ Watchmen adaptation as Ozymandias. Zack Snyder, who directed the 2009 movie, recently confirmed that he had met with Cruise about the role, but that it didn’t work out because the actor wanted to play a different superhero who had already been cast.

Speaking with Josh Horowitz on the Happy Sad Confused podcast to promote Rebel Moon – Part Two: The Scargiver, Snyder confirmed that he had “wanted Tom Cruise for Ozymandias,” but that “Tom wanted to play Rorschach. I mean, obviously, he could have done.” Unfortunately for Cruise, Snyder had already cast Jackie Earle Haley as the masked vigilante. “But yeah, we had Jackie already, and Jackie is like, unbelievable,” Snyder added. “I mean, but I certainly would have considered Tom, in retrospect, if I hadn’t had Jackie.”

Based on the DC Comics limited series of the same name by Dave Gibbons and Alan Moore, Watchmen is set in an alternate history in the year 1985 at the height of the Cold War, following a group of mostly retired superheroes investigating the murder of one of their own. Along the way, they uncover an elaborate and deadly conspiracy that challenges their moral limitations due to the complex nature of the circumstances. David Hayter and Alex Tse adapted the acclaimed comic book series for the big screen.

Besides Haley as Rorschach, Watchmen stars Malin Åkerman as Silk Spectre II, Billy Crudup as Doctor Manhattan, Matthew Goode as Ozymandias, Carla Gugino as Silk Spectre, Jeffrey Dean Morgan as The Comedian, and Patrick Wilson as Nite Owl II. Watchmen underperformed at the box office when it was originally released, finding financial success only after it was released on physical media, where it gained a cult following.

Zack Snyder Explains Why Watchmen 2 Never Happened

With Watchmen eventually turning a profit and finding a larger fanbase years after its theatrical release, some fans have wondered why Warner Bros. never greenlit a sequel. In a recent interview with Joe Rogan, Snyder addressed why a sequel to Watchmen had never been made, simply stating, “Because you know, frankly, the comic book doesn’t exist. For me, that’s why there wasn’t.” While not connected to Snyder’s adaptation, a live-action Watchmen series taking place 34 years after the events of the comics was released on HBO in 2019. The nine-episode limited series received widespread acclaim from critics and was the recipient of 11 awards at the 72nd Primetime Emmys.

Zack Snyder Has Left DC Behind to Focus on Rebel Moon

After Watchmen, Snyder directed three more films based on DC characters — Man of Steel (2013), Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice (2016), and Zack Snyder’s Justice League (2021) — which were all part of the DC Extended Universe timeline. The director is now focused on his epic space opera franchise, Rebel Moon, which is set up at Netflix. The first entry, Part One: A Child of Fire, was released in December 2023, with Part Two: The Scargiver slated to hit the streaming platform on April 19.