'Watchmen' unmasked

Dr Manhattan, Ozymandias and the Night Owl are all set to be unveiled at this year's Comic-Con, and we've got a sneak peek at who will play the roles

After years spent in the depths of development hell, the cast for the big-screen adaptation of Alan Moore’s superhero satire 'Watchmen' is set to be unveiled at this year’s Comic-Con, and it seems that Warner Bros have decided that the story is the star, plumping for character actors rather than box office names for the lead roles.

Billy Crudup ('Almost Famous', 'Big Fish') will play Dr Manhattan, a nuclear physicist who develops superhuman powers of strength, telekinesis and teleportation.

Patrick Wilson ('Hard Candy', 'Little Children') has signed up to play Night Owl, a youngster who uses his sizable inheritance to design and build a crime-fighting suit, devices and gadgets all based around an owl theme.

Matthew Goode ('Match Point', 'The Lookout') will play Ozymandias, a self-appointed superhero whom the media brand ‘the smartest man on the planet’.

Rounding out the cast, Jeffrey Dean Morgan has been cast as brutal Vietnam vet the Comedian, Jackie Earle Haley will play masked vigilante Rorschach and Malin Akerman will play the powerful, athletic female member of the group, Silk Spectre.

As previously reported, Zack Snyder will direct this tale of superheroes investigating the death of one of their own using the same green screen techniques he utilised on '300'. The film is set to shoot in Vancouver later this year, and we’ll have more 'Watchmen' news from Comic-Con as and when it breaks.

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