As if he didn’t have his hands full directingThor: Love and Thunder,Next Goal Wins, andaStar Warsmovie, developing a TV version ofTime Bandits, playing Korg in the MCU, and working on reboots ofAkiraandFlash Gordon, Taika Waititi is taking on yet another project:Our Flag Means Death, a swashbuckling comedy series for HBO Max. Set in the 18th century,Our Flag Means Deathwill loosely follow the life of Barbadian pirate Stede Bonnet, captain of the ship Revenge, who was nicknamed “The Gentleman Pirate” because he was a semi-wealthy landowner before a midlife crisis led him to a life of crime on the high seas.
David Jenkins, the creator of TBS’People of Earth, createdOur Flag Means Deathand will serve as the showrunner. Waititi is attached as an executive producer alongside Jenkins,What We Do in the Shadows’ Garrett Basch, and Dan Halsted and will also direct the series’ pilot episode. Rhys Darby, a frequent collaborator of Waititi’s, has been cast to lead the series as Bonnet.
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Darby is perhaps best known for playing inept band manager Murray Hewitt in HBO’sFlight of the Conchords, which Taika Waititiworked on as a writer and director. He also played a minor role inHunt for the Wilderpeopleand he’s in the cast of Waititi’s latest feature directorial effort,Next Goal Wins, a true-to-life sports comedy about a coach’s attempts to turn the notoriously bad American Samoa soccer team into a World Cup contender. Most recently, Darby has played the in-universe video game’s field guide in the rebootedJumanjiseries.
Ever since his movieWhat We Do in the Shadowswasadapted for the small screen on FX, Waititi has been taking a lot of TV work. He’s set to direct another pilot for Showtime, satirical dark comedyThe Auteur, and he’ll be working as a writer and executive producer onReservation Dogs, a comedy about Native American teenagers growing up on a reservation in Oklahoma. He’s also in development on two animated series for Netflix based on different aspects of Roald Dahl’sCharlie and the Chocolate Factory, and sincethe release ofWhat We Do in the Shadows, Waititi has teased a werewolf-centric spin-off entitledWe’re Wolves.
Last year, Taika Waititi received an Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay for his work onJojo Rabbit. As an actor, Waititi will be seen inthe upcomingFree GuyandThe Suicide Squad, while his voice will be heard in the animated Marvel anthology seriesWhat If…?on Disney Plus. After telling stories about space Vikings and Nazi children, piracy seems like a natural next step for Waititi.
