A very reliable source tells CHUD that Director Zack Snyder has settled on actor Billy Crudup ("M:I-3," "Almost Famous") for the role of Doctor Manhattan in the upcoming "Watchmen" film.

Based on Alan Moore's acclaimed graphic novel, the story follows a group of costumed heroes investigating the murder of one of their own.

Manhattan is Watchmen's only super-powered character, a scientist who accidentally gets annihilated on an atomic level and reconstructs himself into a big, naked, blue, floating demigod detached from the rest of humanity.

The likes of Keanu Reeves and Jason Patric were alreadly linked to the role.