Tons of filmmakers have tried to mount a big-screen version of Alan Moore's "Watchmen," but they've all fallen by the wayside for one reason or another. Stepping up to the plate now is "Dawn of the Dead" director Zack Snyder, who aims to helm "Watchmen" for Warner Bros. and soon as he finishes up on "300." (Which also sounds pretty awesome.)

According to The Hollywood Reporter, "Zach Snyder has come aboard to develop and direct "Watchmen," the seminal DC Comics limited series created by Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons, for Warner Bros. Pictures. Alex Tse is writing the script of the long-gestating project, which is being produced by Larry Gordon and Lloyd Levin. "Watchmen" has a development history almost as epic as the story the comic tells. The project has seen such studios as Fox, Universal and Paramount come and go and has seduced and vexed such filmmakers as Terry Gilliam, Darren Aronofsky, Paul Greengrass and screenwriter David Hayter. Sources say Snyder has impressed Warners with "300," an adaptation of a Frank Miller graphic novel that he directed and co-wrote. Snyder shot the movie -- a Greek epic about the battle of Thermopylae in 480 B.C. -- on soundstages in Montreal using partial sets and greenscreens, similar in technique to Robert Rodriguez's "Sin City."