Who Does Gerard Butler Play in Zack Snyder’s Watchmen?

Gerard Butler played King Leonidas in Zack Snyder’s 300, but also had a secret role in the director’s Watchmen movie found only in the Ultimate Cut.

Before Zack Snyder was known for starting the Snyderverse, he had already partaken in superhero storytelling through 2009’s Watchmen film.

Similar to Zack Snyder’s Justice League consisting of a four-hour film, Watchmen faced an identical scenario, having to cut some parts of the movie for its theatrical release as it was pushing three hours. At the time, superhero films rarely passed the two-hour mark.

Nevertheless, while Zack Snyder’s Watchmen did release a theatrical cut for cinemas in 2009, for it’s DVD and Blu-Ray releases, two additional cuts had been released: the Director’s Cut and the Ultimate Cut.

The Ultimate Cut is the longest out of the bunch, at three and a half hours. In this version, fans can expect to see an animated short film, Watchmen: Tales of the Black Freighter, spliced with the live-action feature.

The unnamed protagonist known only as the Sea Captain is voiced by none other than action star Gerard Butler, who previously collaborated with Snyder on 300. Going into Watchmen, Butler originally expected to play a live-action character.

Though this live-action role never materialized, Butler still acquired his perfect role in the movie as the Sea Captain, especially given the character’s plight in his respective storyline.

What Is Tales of the Black Freighter About?

Tales of the Black Freighter is a comic within a comic in the Watchmen Universe. Published by DC Comics within Watchmen’s alternate history, the comics partook in pirate-like tales, veering away from superhero stories.

This was because superheroes existed in Watchmen’s version of the real world, and they became less popular content material. Thus, Tales of the Black Freighter centered around an 18th century Sea Captain who was attacked by ghost pirates from the infamous Black Freighter ship.

Left alone in the abyss of the ocean, the Sea Captain finds refuge on a deserted island with the dead bodies of his crew. He makes it his goal to get back home to warn his family of the pirate raid.

However, as time passes, he begins to slowly lose his sanity, warping his mind into seeing and hearing things that are not there. This leads him to do heinous acts of violence that only leads him down a darker path.

What is the Significance of Tales of the Black Freighter in Watchmen?

Tales of the Black Freighter serves as a reflection of what’s happening in the world of Watchmen. The Sea Captain represents the superhero Ozymandias’ descent from hero to villain.

Both do “heroic” acts to save humankind. However, the Sea Captain does all of this as a way to cope with his guilt of not being able to save his crew and satisfying his conscience.

As a result, he ends up killing two innocent civilians and his wife, mistaking them from the Black Freighter crew.

In comparison, Ozymandias’ goal is to unite humanity to prevent World War III from occurring. At this time, heroes are illegal, so this also serves his need for purpose. In the film, Ozymandias kills 15 million using energy reactors acting as Doctor Manhattan’s powers.

Why Gerard Butler Is the Perfect Choice for the Sea Captain

Even though Butler missed out on the opportunity to appear in the live-action Watchmen film, his voice still encompassed the pain and anguish the Sea Captain goes through.

Butler has been in countless action films, from 300, the Has Fallen series to Den of Thieves and many more. But his performance as the Sea Captain is unlike his other projects; for most of the animated sequence, he speaks only to the audience.

The versatility of sadness, pain, determination, anger, and regret compliments the ambiguous ending to what happens to the Sea Captain, who finally embraces his descent into madness.

The best part is the way Butler understood the story. In an Interview with Empire, Butler said, “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!” Indeed, as the story progresses, viewers can’t help but feel bad for the sole survivor, especially with Butler’s powerful voice.