After playing Wolverine, P.T. Barnum, Van Helsing, Jean Valjean and most recently Robin Hood, Hugh Jackman is adding another iconic literary figure to his extensive filmography, signing on to portray the legendary pirate Long John Silver.
Ridley Scott has enlisted Jackman to leaf his cast of a new adaptation of Robert Louis Stevenson’s 1883 novel, “Treasure Island.”
Scott will direct the adaptation from a script by Emmy-winning “Adolescence” writer Jack Thorne and produce alongside Michael Pruss for his Scott Free banner.
Thorne will executive produce the new movie. The hot package hit the market on Monday.
Stevenson’s tale of “buccaneers and buried gold” is one of the most famous — and most frequently adapted — pirate stories ever written.
“Treasure Island” follows young Jim Hawkins as he finds a map to Captain Flint’s long-lost fortune and embarks on a perilous voyage aboard the Hispaniola.
Aboard the ship, Jim and the crew face mutiny led by the cunning, one-legged cook, Long John Silver — but ultimately outsmart the pirates to claim the gold.
The 18th-century set coming-of-age story popularized many pirate tropes, including treasure maps marked with an “X”, the Black Spot, and one-legged seamen with parrots on their shoulders.
Since its publication in 1883, "Treasure Island" has sold more than 100 million copies worldwide and has been translated into over 50 languages, making it one of the most enduring and influential adventure novels ever written.
In 2002, John Musker and Ron Clements also directed "Treasure Planet," an animated take of the novel, in which Joseph Gordon-Levitt voiced Jim Hawkins.
Set in space and therefore leaning more science fiction, the film also featured the voices of Brian Murray as Long John Silver, Martin Short as the robot Ben and Emma Thompson as Captain Amelia.
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