Who watches the Watchman? Zack Snyder - Fan Q&A — Part I
I think for one, as we get further away from 1985, the concept of making a movie set in 1985 becomes more viable — because it’s more of a period piece. Before, it might have just been too close to 1985. Funny enough, as time passed and the project was still in development, most other versions, actually all, planned on updating the story to a modern, or at the time, present day setting. Thankfully, we were able to abandon that approach and set the film back in 1985.
I do believe the cold war stakes are pivotal to the film’s success because in order to believe Adrian’s storyline, you have to believe that he believes that the threat of nuclear war is not only real, but also imminent. We’ve put a lot of effort into trying to infuse the story with that notion — using every appropriate opportunity to reinforce the Soviet presence and the looming threat of a nuclear war on a global scale.