Watchmen lacking the squid

I don't quite think it would've been a comic con without some mention of the upcoming Watchmen movie, now a little under a month away. On Saturday the fine folks at Warner Brothers aired the first 20 minutes or so of the film, and of course the crowd went bonkers. I don't think I really need to describe what the content was as I'm sure you know it from the books, but I can say that it is really damn close to the book. The look and feel of the film perfectly capture the same aspects of the book, which bodes well for Zack Miller. Now onto "sadder" news. The panel afterwards confirmed that the giant squid that Kevin Smith mentioned being absent from the film is actually absent. Dave Gibbons said at the panel that while the ending is lacking a cephalopod, the spirit of the ending is the same. My guess is that the squid was removed because the higher-ups at Warner Brothers were a little worried that the meaning of the squid would be lost the mass audience they're appealing to. Sure, folks like me and you that have read the series know what its about, but for as much as comics have gained in popularity we are still in the minority.