“I had this crazy pre-viz reel that I’d done, and it was insane, like superheroes doing cocaine,” McKay said of his pitching process. In his talks with studios, he also stayed adamant that the movie would need to be rated R, regardless of any other necessary adaptation changes that might be made. “It doesn’t work unless it’s R,” he said, and went on to refer to the comics as a “current day ‘Watchmen.'”
But although both comics explored similar thematic ground, “The Boys” has always been far more cynical. “Watchmen” featured an all-powerful superman character who became tired of humanity and could barely be bothered to lift a finger to save the world in the end. It seemed like a cynical take back in the ’80s, but after reading about Homelander in “The Boys,” everything about Doctor Manhattan starts to seem absurdly optimistic in comparison.
The big difference is that although both comics tackle mature themes, “Watchmen” handles those themes with a lot more, well, maturity. When a prominent female character in the comics is raped by another member of the superhero group, the incident is treated seriously, and it has ripple effects throughout the rest of the story. With “The Boys,” the rape scene that happens in a similar place in the narrative is far cheaper and more gratuitous, seemingly done more for humor and shock value than anything else.
Although McKay was considered a promising, reliable director at the time, ultimately he was unsuccessful in getting “The Boys” made into a movie. We’ll likely never know the exact reasons why studios never went for it, but it couldn’t have helped that “The Boys” comics were never anywhere close to the same level as Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons’ masterpiece comic series.
