Into every decade, a Treasure Island is born. The ’90s had Muppet Treasure Island. The 2000s had Treasure Planet. The 2010s had the loose prequel Black Sails. (These are, uh, very different interpretations.) Now the 2020s will have its own Treasure Island courtesy of creator Robert Murphy (Meadowlands, McDonald and Dodds) and a pretty excellent cast.
Variety reports that David Oyelowo (Selma, Silo) will play Long John Silver, while Hayley Atwell (the MCU’s Peggy Carter, pictured above in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness) is Bess Hawkins, the mother of protagonist Jim Hawkins. The young Hawkins will be played by Tom Sweet (Pip in Hulu’s 2023 Great Expectations). Jack Huston (Mayfair Witches) plays Aaron Graham, and Tomer Capone (The Boys) is Billy Bones.
According to Variety, this Treasure Island is a “coming-of-age adventure series charting the transformation of teenager Jim Hawkins from a sheltered boy to emboldened young pirate. When Hawkins gets his hands on a legendary treasure map, his mother Bess’s clever and decisive actions leave him holding valuable knowledge that puts both of their lives in danger. Sailing aboard The Hispaniola, Jim and Bess are caught between the charming, terrifying pirate Long John Silver and the debonair, duplicitous British agent Aaron Graham. Jim has to grow up fast as he and his mother fight for survival on a voyage where alliances shift, secrets multiply and peril closes in from all sides.”
The series begins shooting this month. It will air on MGM+ in the US, and Paramount+ in the UK. According to MGM+’s global head, Michael Wright, “This thrilling new adaptation of Stevenson’s classic adventure Treasure Island is a perfect expression of the MGM+ brand.”
