For director Zack Snyder, convincing notoriously difficult "Sin City" creator and artist Frank Miller that he was the man to bring to theaters his retelling of the Battle of Thermopylae wasn't easy. How could this young commercial director, whose only feature experience had been a remake of "Dawn of the Dead," handle Miller's inspired take on King Leonidas and his 300 Spartan warriors?

"He was hesitant," Snyder admits. "I don't think he thought that anyone would ever try to make a movie out of '300.'"

But after seeing the results he's certainly happy Snyder was the man who did. Now, after clearing that big hurdle, Snyder is attempting to bring another critically acclaimed comic-book series to the big screen: Alan Moore's "Watchmen." One of the first realistic scenarios on how superpowered beings could exist in the modern world, the critically acclaimed 1986 series has similar themes to Moore's "V for Vendetta." Like "V," "Watchmen" has been in development hell for years and, at one point or another, attracted filmmakers such as Terry Gilliam, Darren Aronofsky and Paul Greengrass. After Greengrass' Paramount production was shut down almost two years ago (several weeks into preproduction), Snyder came on board to develop a new take at Universal. Considering how hard it was to pitch "300" to executives, Snyder finds himself in an almost déjà vu scenario for "Watchmen," which still hasn't been officially greenlighted.

"They don't understand why it's not 'Fantastic Four,'" Snyder says. "I have to remind them that it's much more 'Dr. Strangelove,' which they don't like hearing. When they finally saw this movie ['300'], I think they felt, 'Wow, we didn't know this was the movie you were necessarily making, but we like this.' Maybe that will apply to 'Watchmen.'"

One big difference from previous adaptations is that this "Watchmen" will be set in the mid '80s, just like its source material.

"I think by setting it in 1985, by having the Cold War, Nixon and all that stuff, you sort of reinvigorate what the story is about," Snyder says. "I think that what Alan [is commenting on is] about authority and government. If you make that movie right, [then] what that has to say makes people think about what's happening maybe now or in their own lives. That's my hope for what the movie could be."

Although it will not be everyone's cup of tea, "300" shows that Snyder sticks to his visionary guns. Universal trusted Snyder on "Dawn" (when zombie movies were far from vogue) and was justly rewarded at the box office. Let's hope the studio takes that chance again.