The 'Our Flag Means Death' Trailer Contains Pirate Comedy Madness

Taika Waititi has become synonymous with a particular brand of irreverent comedy based on specific genre brands. His What We Do In The Shadows was a modern vampire comedy that launched an American spinoff on streaming. His Thor: Ragnarok revitalized the Marvel comic book hero's stand-alone brand after Kenneth Branagh almost serioused it to death. With Oscars and BAFTAs under his belt, it's not a surprise that HBO Max snatched up his latest pitch, in which he aims to do for pirates what he did for vampires.

His concept, Our Flag Means Death, was greenlit straight to series by HBO Max back in September 2020. The series is based on the life and times of Stede Bonnet, a pampered aristocrat who abandoned his aristocratic life to become a pirate in the early 18th century. In January 2021, that role went to Rhys Darby, who fans will recognize from the What We Do In The Shadows' spinoff Wellington Paranormal. Waititi, who usually gives himself a secondary role in his projects (he's in both versions of WWDITS and Thor), will also co-star as the famous Blackbeard.

Bonnet was from the island of Barbados to a wealthy family, from who he inherited the estate when he was in his mid-teens. At 21, he got married, but it quickly turned sour. In 1717, at the age of 29, despite having zero sailing experience, he bought a sailing vessel, named it Revenge, and turned to piracy along the southeastern coast of what would eventually become the United States. But it's the trailer that will really sell you on what may be the most rollicking pirate story that doesn't include Johnny Depp doing a Keith Richards impression since Kevin Kline starred in Gilbert and Sullivan's Pirates of Penzance.