Hayley Atwell & David Oyelowo Explain Treasure Island's Unique Take On Long John Silver

Published Oct 18, 2026, 2:37 PM EDT As a graduate of Columbia University in New York City, Tatiana studied theater and comparative literature. She has been passionate about all manner of storytelling from Jane Austen adaptations to anime. Aside from writing for Screen Rant, she co-hosts podcasts: The Flash Podcast and Ladies With Gumption. MGM+s new adaptation of Treasure Island is not a modern take on the Robert Louis Stevenson classic, but it does revolutionize some of its major characters. While Jim Hawkins (Tom Sweet, Great Expectations) remains at the center of the proceedings, his mother (played by MCU star Hayley Atwell) becomes a much more active participant in the adventure. Long John Silver (David Oyelowo, Silo), already an iconic character in his own right, is also reimagined as an ex-slave with more nuanced ambitions than his literary counterpart. Treasure Island follows the novel's structure, with the discovery of Captain Flint’s legendary treasure map (courtesy of the tragic Billy Bones, played by The Boys star Tomer Capone) sending the ragtag crew on a quest to obtain riches, but this time Mrs. Hawkins joins her son on the voyage. Creator Robert Murphy takes several liberties beyond that, especially when it comes to Long John Silver's backstory and relationships with Jim and his mother. Prior to the MGM+ premiere, ScreenRant interviewed Oyelowo and Atwell about their roles in Treasure Island. The duo discussed what unique storytelling aspects they hoped to bring to the adaptation with their changes, as well as how those changes shifted the central relationship between Jim and Long John Silver. How Treasure Island Sets Up Long John Silver & Mrs. Hawkins As Two Sides Of A Coin ScreenRant: This adaptation offers an expanded role for Mrs. Hawkins, and also a unique approach to Long John Silver. What did you each hope to bring to this classic story? David Oyelowo: The thing I was excited to bring, in the hands of a formerly enslaved Long John Silver, was a different relationship to the treasure. I think, in former iterations, it felt like it was purely about greed - whereas in the hands of someone who's been so disempowered, so marginalized, and so mistreated, the treasure represents freedom. It represents empowerment. It represents something a bit more high-stakes than just pure greed, and that was something that I thought was a fresh way into the story. Hayley Atwell: Absolutely. I actually feel, now I think about it, that I was bringing a slightly more nuanced idea of the relationship that a mother has with their son. She is not good or bad, and she's not just there in service to the boy, our hero. Although she represents, to him and to the audience, an origin story - we understand Jim a little bit more because we understand where he comes from. But the fact is that she is a lot of things at the same time, and the stakes are high for her all the time, so there is always threat and always danger. She gets to be manipulative, seductive, vulnerable, and fearless. At times, she and Jim are like siblings. They're like co-conspirators. They're like business partners. At times, he feels more like a parent figure to her, and that feels like it tracks psychologically, in terms of having a single parent with an only child. They're the only two people that they've got in the world, and that enmeshment creates lots of different dynamics that play out between them. That was a lovely thing to try and put into this show. Screen Rant: Long John Silver's first meeting with the Hawkins family is somewhat antagonistic, but obviously you're all in the same literal boat together. David, how would you say that your dynamic with them, especially Jim, evolves? David Oyelowo: It's part of the fresh things with our way of doing it. In Robert Louis Stevenson's version, Long John Silver has no interaction with Bess Hawkins necessarily, but with this - because she is his mother, and because there is a sort of weaponization of a paternal promise from Long John Silver - they become rivals around this boy. And it's not just the boy, but what he harbors in his head by way of the map, so there are moments where their love for him, and their care of him, feels real. I think that's definitely more the case with Bess than with Long John. But because there are these moments where, certainly, Jim gravitates more to one than the other, we orbit around this center that is Jim. I think it's a really interesting dynamic for two people who would never be perceived as parents to one child, but who somehow are both vying for this child for different reasons. It's just a fresh dynamic that, certainly for us, was really interesting to play. New episodes of Treasure Island air Sundays at 10pm ET on MGM+. Release Date October 11, 2026 Network MGM+ Directors Jeremy Lovering, Paul Walker, William McGregor Cast David Oyelowo Long John Silver Treasure Island, released in 2026, follows Jim Hawkins and his mother Bess as they embark on a perilous journey after acquiring a legendary treasure map. Aboard The Hispaniola, they navigate threats from the pirate Long John Silver and British agent Aaron Graham amidst shifting alliances and dangerous secrets.