Taika Waititi will pilfer, plunder, and pillage in his upcoming role as the famous pirate Blackbeard on the HBO Max comedy, Our Flag Means Death. The multi-hyphenate actor, director, writer, and producer from New Zealand has been involved in a wide variety of independent and big-budget movies and television shows over the past few years. In 2017, he directed Thor: Ragnarok and is currently directing the upcoming Thor: Love and Thunder with a script he co-wrote.
The Wrap reports that Waititi is joining the cast of Our Flag Means Death, an HBO Max comedy series on which Waititi doubles as a producer. Waititi will play Blackbeard, a legendary English swashbuckler and real person who frequently appears as a character in old pirate lore. Creator David Jenkins (People of Earth) says Waititi is the perfect guy for the job:
Our Blackbeard is a legend, a lover, a fighter, a tactical genius, a poetic soul, and quite possibly insane. Only one man could play this role, and that is the great Taika Waititi. We’re thrilled beyond measure he’s decided to don the beard.
Garrett Basch and Dan Halstead will serve as executive producers alongside Waititi. Waititi has previously acted in projects he also worked on behind the scenes, so his casting doesn’t come as a surprise. Still, based on the actor’s track record of impeccably balanced, wacky-yet-nuanced character work, Waititi’s take on the notorious sea rogue is an exciting prospect.
Our Flag Means Death is inspired by the real historical figure, Stede Bonnet, a wealthy member of the 18th-century aristocracy who decided to live at sea as a pirate rather than remain comfortable in polite society. Rhys Darby, a frequent collaborator with Waititi on Flight of the Conchords and Next Goal Wins more recently, will play Bonnet.
Source: The Wrap
Originally from https://screenrant.com/taika-waititi-our-flag-means-death-blackbeard-cast/