 In October 2005 , Gordon and Levin began talks with Warner Bros. , originally the second studio to be attached to Watchmen , and confirmed in December 2005 that Warner Bros. had picked up the film , but that Greengrass was no longer attached to direct . In addition , the film was marked as an " open writing assignment " , which meant David Hayter 's script would be put aside . Despite this change , Hayter expressed his hope that his script would be used by Warner Bros. and that he would be attached to direct his " dream project " . 
