Butler to star in 'Black Freighter'

Gerard Butler has revealed he will voice the lead character in Watchmen's animated spinoff Tales Of The Black Freighter.

The animated short will be based on a comic-within-a-comic story in Alan Moore's superhero graphic novel. Black Freighter revolves around a captain stranded at sea as he tries to find a pirate ghost ship that will guide him home. The story portrays the mental deterioration of the captain and draws parallels to the main Watchmen narrative.

Speaking to Empire, Butler said: "I’m going to do the voice of the captain. 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!"

The Warner Bros movie was recently subject to a lawsuit from 20th Century Fox over film rights to the superhero story.

Watchmen, directed by 300's Zack Snyder, will be released in March next year.