Our Flag Means Death trailer: It’s the pirates life for Rhys Darby and Taika Waititi

Rhys Darby as gentleman pirate Stede Bonnet and Taika Waititi as a quite possibly insane Blackbeard? Sign me up! HBO Max has released the first trailer for Our Flag Means Death, a new comedy series loosely based on the real life story of Stede Bonnet, a privileged aristocrat who ditched his pampered life in order to pursue a career in piracy despite knowing nothing about it.

“[Bonnet] had one of the world’s great, colorful midlife crises,” Our Flag Means Death showrunner David Jenkins told Entertainment Weekly. “That’s a great way into a show in any genre, but to mix that with pirates, I was like, Oh, this is fantastic.” Although the series does take its inspiration from real events, Jenkins said that Our Flag Means Death is less of a pirate show and more of a “workplace show in a strange environment,” adding that “the idea of blowing your life up is so universal.” Although they’ve been friends for years, Our Flag Means Death is one of the first times that Rhys Darby and Thor: Love and Thunder director Taika Waititi have acted alongside one another.

“They are like an old married couple in certain ways,” Jenkins adds with a laugh. “If a scene isn’t quite working, Taika will be able to grumble about Rhys, and vice versa, in the way that only friends can. And then when it is popping, they know how to get the best out of each other. There’s a generosity and a real sweetness between them that you wouldn’t get if you weren’t using those two friends.”

In addition to Rhys Darby and Taika Waititi, Our Flag Means Death also stars Leslie Jones, Fred Armisen, Kristian Nairn, and Nathan Foad. The series doesn’t have an official release date yet but is expected to debut on HBO Max later this year. The seven seas will never be the same. What did you think of the trailer for Our Flag Means Death?