Rhys Darby will star in Taika Waititi’s HBO Max comedy “Our Flag Means Death.”
The series is loosely based on the true adventures of Stede Bonnet, a pampered aristocrat who abandoned his life of privilege to become a pirate. Darby will play Bonnet, who named himself captain of “The Revenge” ship in the 18th century.
The show is created by “People of Earth” boss David Jenkins, who will serve as showrunner.
Waititi will direct the pilot episode of “Our Flag Means Death,” which HBO Max expects to be shot after the “Jojo Rabbit” filmmaker finishes production on his upcoming Marvel movie “Thor: Love and Thunder.” Along with Waititi and Jenkins, “Our Flag Means Death” is also executive produced by Garrett Basch (“The Night Of,” “What We Do in the Shadows”) and Dan Halsted.
Waititi also has a comedy in the works at FX, “Reservation Dogs.”
“Our Flag Means Death” is the latest collaboration between Waititi and Darby. Darby starred in HBO’s “Flight of the Conchords,” for which Waititi served as a writer and producer. He is also set to star in Waititi’s upcoming film “Next Goal Wins,” about the American Samoa soccer team, known for suffering the worst loss in World Cup history.
Darby also starred in the “Jumanji” reboot and its sequel, “Jumanji: The Next Level,” as video game character Nigel Billingsley.