 In July 2004 , it was announced Paramount Pictures would produce Watchmen , and they hired Darren Aronofsky to direct Hayter 's script . Gordon and Levin remained attached , collaborating with Aronofsky 's producing partner , Eric Watson . Eventually , Aronofsky left to focus on The Fountain , and Paramount replaced him with Paul Greengrass , with a target release date of summer 2006 . At this time , Paddy Considine , was involved in negotiations for Rorschach . Jude Law ( a fan of the comic ) and Tom Cruise both lobbied for Ozymandias . Greengrass wanted Joaquin Phoenix for Dan Dreiberg and Hilary Swank as Laurie . To publicize the film , Paramount launched a now @-@ defunct Watchmen teaser website that had a message board as well as computer wallpaper available to download . Graphic artist Tristan <unk> drew designs of Dr. Manhattan for the film , which depicted him with visible intestines . Gilliam read Greengrass 's revision of Hayter 's script and liked it , but told the director he did not think the studio would greenlight such a dark film . In March 2005 , with rumors that high @-@ profile projects , including Watchmen , were in danger of being cut , Paramount 's CEO Donald De Line began urging a reduction in Watchmen 's budget so the film could get the greenlight . When Brad Grey took over as Paramount ’ s CEO , Levin feared potential budget cuts , so he made plans to move the project outside the UK in an effort to save money . Before he could , Paramount placed Watchmen in turnaround , again . 
