You know Blackbeard, right? Famous pirate, scourge of the seas, etcetera? Everyone knows Blackbeard in the new trailer for Our Flag Means Death. Big fans all ’round. Blackbeard (Taika Waititi) is obviously cooler than Stede Bonnet (Rhys Darby); the all-black outfit tells us that much. (How do leather trousers fare in salt air, though?) And he’s got a firmer grasp on the concepts of piracy than Stede, who would like to dress to impress and kill his enemies with kindness.
They’re obviously going to be the best of friends.
Our Flag Means Death comes from the mind of creator David Jenkins (People of Earth), and is executive produced by Waititi (who also directed the pilot, which I like to believe means he was directing himself while wearing his full costume). The piratical comedy centers on Stede, who was a real person, a fellow who gave up his comfortable existence and went all a-pirate’s-life-for-me in the late 1600s. It seems to be an origin story the likes of which we haven’t seen before, complete with poorly considered uniforms, pep talks, and a respect for books.
This pirate party also features Leslie Jones, Fred Armisen, Kristian Nairn, and Rory Kinnear. The first three episodes air on HBO Max on March 3rd, and the rest follow in a somewhat unusual schedule: episodes 4-6 air March 10th, episodes 7 and 8 on March 17, and episodes 9 and 10 on March 24th.
Buy the Book
All the Horses of Iceland
