Thor Director Taika Waititi’s New Comedy Series Is Hitting Australian Screens

Ahoy mateys!

Thor Director Taika Waititi’s New Comedy Series Is Hitting Australian Screens

Image Credit: Aaron Epstein/HBO

Academy Award winner, Taika Waititi will be coming to Australian television screens in a new period comedy, Our Flag Means Death, which is set in the 18th century and will focus on piracy. The series is loosely based on Stede Bonnet’s story, a real-life aristocrat who abandoned his life in the 1700s to become a pirate.

Rhys Darby as Stede Bonnet. Image Credit: Aaron Epstein/HBO

Bonnet will be played by New Zealand actor, Rhys Darby, a close friend of Waititi’s who has previously worked with him on the comedy shows, Flight of the Conchords and What We Do in the Shadows. Waititi, who is best known for writing and directing, will be executively producing Our Flag Means Death and will play the notorious pirate Blackbeard. This isn’t Waititi’s first acting role though; in fact, he’s acted in numerous projects including films he’s written and directed, such as Korg in Thor: Ragnarok and Hitler in Jojo Rabbit.

While the trailer for Our Flag Means Death only shows a glimpse of Waititi as Blackbeard, if there’s one thing Waititi excels at, it’s offbeat comedy, so hopefully, Blackbeard will be his funniest role yet. Our Flag Means Death creator David Jenkins certainly thinks so; as he told Entertainment Weekly that the friendship between Waititi and Darby pushed both actors to perform at their absolute best.

“… 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.”

David Jenkins – Our Flag Means Death showrunner

The show will have a total of ten episodes, two of which have been directed by Waititi. While an exact release date hasn’t been announced, Our Flag Means Death will hit the Australian streaming service, Binge in March, and fans of Waititi can’t wait.

If you haven’t had a chance, make sure you check out the trailer for Our Flag Means Death, which you can do so below:

Read Next: