David Oyelowo and Hayley Atwell’s Treasure Island ‘redefines the pirate genre’

To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video Who didn’t run around as a kid, brandishing a stick that you imagined was a sword, pretending that you were living out your fantasy of becoming a pirate? The Hollywood version of pirates is, of course, heavily romanticised. 17th and 18th-century pirates weren’t just swashbuckling rogues who gave a cheeky wink as they sailed away with gallons of gold. In reality, while there were pirates who showed compassion and followed a code of conduct, others plundered their way across the ocean with unrelenting brutality. Yet when we think of buccaneers who operated during the ‘Golden Age of Piracy’, the images that spring to mind are often characters like those in Robert Louis Stevenson’s 1883 novel Treasure Island, largely credited as the blueprint for modern depictions of pirates. It’s one of literature’s most famous tales, told several times in various adaptations, including the 1950 film with Robert Newton, the 1990 movie with Charlton Heston, the 1996 Muppet Treasure Island and a personal favourite, the 2003 animated Disney classic Treasure Planet. The story, which follows budding adventurer Jim Hawkins and the ambitious pirate Long John Silver, has returned for a new retelling, starring Hollywood heavyweights David Oyelowo and Hayley Atwell. It’s the story we all know – but not. In this new iteration of the tale, Long John Silver has a different backstory, as a former slave whose piracy is partially motivated by his pursuit of freedom. David, 50, is the first Black actor to play the character, and he felt that he was able to ‘untether’ himself from previous portrayals of the iconic pirate. One of literature’s most classic tales is being retold (Picture: Treasure Island/©Playground Entertainment/Paramount Global) To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video ‘What Robert Murphy managed to put into the scripts is something that acknowledges the historical, racial, and political landscape of the time,’ the Selma actor told Metro. ‘It untethers me from some of those things that an audience might expect from Treasure Island, which is very helpful. We have the parrot, we have the peg leg, we have galleons, we have all of that good stuff. But there is more context and maybe even more stakes that come along with someone like me getting to play him, so that in and of itself was a relief for me.’ Hayley, 44, was also able to bring a fresh perspective to her character, Bess Hawkins, the mother of Jim Hawkins. In the original novel, Mrs Hawkins has a far more minor role. In the 2026 series, Bess joins her son on his adventure in the search for the treasure. When she’s first introduced in the series, it’s clear that she’s a formidable woman, having created her own business to support her and her son, and exuding an ‘audacious’ spirit. ‘There wasn’t really the character of Bess. She’s mentioned only in regards to having brought Jim Hawkins into the world, but beyond that, she had no real autonomy or storyline, and that was a real welcome addition to this show,’ the Captain America star shared. In this version of the story, Bess joins her son Jim (Tom Sweet) on his treasure-hunting adventure (Picture: Treasure Island/Playground Entertainment/Paramount Global/Pablo Dominguez) ‘It feels fair to say you need that female representation today. You can’t have a show like this where there are just no women there, just because they’re so sort of diluted in the original material. ‘We’re having to tell the story in this time, and so it meant that I also had the pleasure of being able to add my own ideas and takes on her.’ Hayley outlined that while creator Robert Murphy’s dialogue was ‘fantastic’, her suggestions for Bess’ story arc were also taken on board during filming… literally. ‘Let’s add her into the battle scene on deck. Let’s not have her be the only person that runs below deck and hides. Let’s actually have her visually looking like a pirate,’ Hayley recalled. ‘I thought about the reference of someone like Grace O’Malley, the existence of real female pirates. How wonderful to have the reference of that in mind to really give her that sense of visibility on screen.’ While speaking to David and Hayley, it was apparent how sincere their bond was in real life. David described Hayley as ‘one of his best friends in the world’, explaining that they’ve known each other for 20 years – which resulted in one particular scene that he performed as Long John Silver being a major struggle. Hayley and David have been good friends for many years (Picture: Jed Cullen/Dave Benett/Getty Images) ‘There’s a scene where you’re throwing up over the side of the ship, and I don’t even know if I’ve told you this, but I have to be really mean to her in this scene, but I just couldn’t do it,’ he explained. ‘I kept on looking at her, and this beautiful face of this dear friend of mine who I’ve known for so long, and I thought, the wheels are about to fall off. My Long John Silver has disappeared. ‘I do not know how to be mean to Hayley, so I literally took myself off behind the mast of the ship. I was like, “Come on, come on, that’s not Hayley. You are going to be mean to her.” So the fact that that scene was accomplished and I think I got away with it, it’s something I’m very excited about being in this show. It was a real struggle.’ Hayley faced a similar difficulty when Bess had to be ‘mean and take revenge’ against the menacing pirate. ‘There were times when David completely transformed as this absolutely formidable, terrifying menace, but also has this kind of charisma where I still – as I’m watching it as an audience – I still want him to have what he wants,’ she said, making David burst into laughter as he sat beside her. ‘It’s a very strange paradox. But sometimes we’d be in a scene together, and I’d be like, “Wow, my friend is doing amazing work.” Staying in character with each other was the joyful challenge of it.’ Do you have a favourite adaptation of Treasure Island? (Picture: Treasure Island/Playground Entertainment/Paramount Global/Cris Rios Bordon_ For many people, transforming into a seafaring pirate hunting the seas for treasure is a pipe dream that they had as a kid. When David was younger, he impersonated Robert Newton’s Long John Silver, saying that it was his ‘childhood fantasy version’ of the role. Decades later, he and Hayley have done something new, which adds new layers not just to Treasure Island, but the pirate genre on the whole. ‘The great thing for Hayley and I, for her as a woman, me as a Black man, we have not been as demographics centred in this narrative, which is Treasure Island, or in this genre, which is pirate movies or TV shows,’ he said. ‘I think the untethering from what has been known to be the pirate genre for us, and the fact that the agency that she has as a woman on that ship, and the fact that she gets to show these levels of complexity, and the fact that for me as a formerly enslaved person, the treasure is not just about greed; it’s about freedom and power and gaining something that has been lost, having been so disenfranchised – these are complexities and stakes that thankfully, for us selfishly, haven’t been seen in the genre necessarily before, and that’s what made it a joy for us.’ Deals of the Day QVC shoppers can save £159 on Elemis' biggest beauty gift set of the year This Hoover vacuum is a game-changer for pet owners and muddy homes The wellbeing brand behind everyone's favourite candles has launched its biggest sale yet See London's Christmas lights from an open-top double-decker bus this winter My skin always suffers when the heating goes on but this serum changed that Treasure Island is available to stream on Paramount+ UK & Ireland. 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