Gerard Butler has confirmed that he will be providing the voice for the lead of the Tales of the Black Freighter animated short that Zack Snyder will include with the DVD release of Watchmen. The Scottish actor confirmed to Empire Online that he would be reuniting with his former director from 300.

It had long been rumored that Snyder was going to find a role for Butler in Watchmen, and when no role was listed for Butler in the film itself, fans immediately began wondering if Butler might instead be used for Tales of the Black Freighter.

Butler finally confirmed his involvement recently. "I'm going to do the voice of the captain," said Butler. "They're going to do it in the style of a Japanese anime and I'm totally stoked. I actually read the script before reading the comic book and I thought it was awesome. Then I read the comic book and it's great. The little bits that have been added define it so much more. It's very dark and there's just something so descriptive and scary. It's this descent into madness but explained in such a sane way that you totally feel it yourself. By the end, my heart was pumping!"

Although it isn't a core part of the plot of Watchmen, Tales of the Black Freighter is a story that deepens the meaning of the main plot by mirroring the arc of one of the main characters. In the comics, Tales of the Black Freighter is a comic being read by one of the minor characters while the main series plot unfolds.

Watchmen, based on the award winning graphic novel by Alan Moore, is set in an alternate 1985 America where costumed heroes are a part of the world's history, and the "Doomsday Clock", which measures the tension between the USA and the U.S.S.R. is constantly at five minutes to midnight. Rorschach, a vigilante who refused to retire when his teammates did, is drawn out by the murder of one of his colleagues, and pulled into a world-wide conspiracy with terrifying implications for the future of mankind.

Watchmen stars Patrick Wilson, Billy Crudup, Jeffrey Dean Morgan, Jackie Earle Haley, Malin Akerman, Matthew Goode, Stephen McHattie, Carla Gugino and Matt Frewer. The film opens across America on March 6th, 2009.