What if Nite-Owl was an actual owl? Or Rorschach was, I dunno, like a mean, stray dog, maybe? What about Doctor Cat-hattan? These are the kind of hard-hitting questions writer Brian Lynch, known for his work as the screenwriter of The Secret Life of Pets and its sequel, is hoping to tackle by pitching his idea for Watchmen Pets directly to DC Comics on Twitter.
"Hey @DCComics can I do Watchmen Pets?" Lynch tweets, following up DC's unresponsiveness by lambasting the publisher's obvious dislike of making money on big ideas, like a Watchmen spin-off starring pets.
"Have not heard back from DC yet. Maybe they don't like money," Lynch continues. "Friendly reminder that superheroes are very popular, and that I have made two successful pet-related movies, this is a match made in Heaven."
As it turns out, Newsarama may have been thinking rather small by suggesting Nite-Owl be an actual owl, as Lynch's expanded premise for Watchmen Pets takes a very different direction - probably showing why he makes the big bucks in Hollywood.
"Who doesn't want to see Nite Owl as a little cockatiel dressed as an owl, or a blue cat living on the moon, or a dalmatian with spots that move around all the time?" Lynch asks, going on to implore several prominent industry news sites to make sure to cover his pitch (Newsarama included - who are we to sleep on a major scoop?).
Watchmen Pets may seem like a hard sell, given Watchmen writer Alan Moore's notorious dislike of sequels, spin-offs, and adaptations of the original comic book story he created with artist Dave Gibbons, due to Moore's falling out with DC. But Lynch believes Moore could be sold on the concept.
"What if this was the idea that made Alan Moore say 'Yeah, Watchmen should continue, go for it, have fun?'" Lynch asks.
In this day and age, anything is possible. Moore didn't go for The Simpsons' idea of Watchmen Babies in V: for Vacation, but maybe he'd be much more swayed by a few furry friends taking on the roles of comics' darkest, most troubled vigilantes.
On the DC side, parent company Warner Bros. is producing an animated DC League of Super-Pets film starring comic book pets such as Krypto, Ace the Bat-Hound, and more - so we know they're open to great ideas.
Watchmen Pets may be a fun, silly idea, but the legacy of the original Watchmen has had a very real, profound impact on the comic industry.
