Taika Waititi to play Blackbeard in pirate comedy Our Flag Means Death
By Ariba Bhuvad
It’s a pirate’s life for the multi-talented Taika Waititi! According to Variety, Waititi will be playing the infamous Blackbeard in HBO Max’s upcoming pirate comedy Our Flag Means Death.
Blackbeard was a real-life pirate who once ruled the Caribbean and Atlantic coastal waters, according to Smithsonian Magazine. A reputedly intimidating and ruthless man, he was feared by all, although our historical understanding of him is still evolving.
Hollywood has brought Blackbeard’s story to life on screen a handful of times, including in the 1952 movie Blackbeard the Pirate. He even popped up in Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides back in 2011, where he had an encounter with Johnny Depp’s Jack Sparrow.
But now, we are going to see Taika Waititi take on this role, and something tells me he is going to be magnificent at it. The guy really can do it all!
It will come as no surprise that along with taking on the lead role, he is also going to be an executive producer for the series and direct the pilot, which was announced last year.
What will Taika Waititi’s Blackbeard be like?
According to the series creator David Jenkins, this version of Blackbeard will be “a legend, a lover, a fighter, a tactical genius, a poetic soul, and quite possibly insane.” Sounds like it’s just the role for Waititi, who was the only person Jenkins envisioned in the part.
The series will also star What We Do in the Shadows veteran Rhys Darby as Stede Bonnet, an aristocrat turned pirate. Waititi is also behind that movie, so the pair coming together for another comedy is something I’m most definitely looking forward to!
Taika Waititi has a lot on his plate right now, and how he manages to do it all is beyond us. Along with What We Do in the Shadows season 3, he’s currently busy working on the fourth Thor film, Love and Thunder. And then there’s his adaptation of Terry Gilliam’s Time Bandits for Paramount Television and the two versions of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory he’s making for Netflix.
The guy is ridiculously busy, and we are so very lucky to be blessed with his never-ending talent. The more Taika Waititi, the merrier!
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h/t SYFY Wire