Ridley Scott is directing. Hugh Jackman is playing Long John Silver. Sony is circling the deal. Yeah, this one just got very interesting very quickly. It is amazing how every generation seems to get its own version of Treasure Island. It’s one of those stories that simply refuses to stay buried. Robert Louis Stevenson introduced the world to pirates, buried gold and Long John Silver nearly 150 years ago. And now Treasure Island is coming back to claim the big screen. I am genuinely stoked.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, Ridley Scott will be in the director’s seat, Hugh Jackman assumes the role of the legendary pirate Long John Silver, and Sony is currently in talks to acquire the project after 20th Century Studios decided to pass on it. Now, 20th Century Studios passing on a Ridley Scott film is the kind of decision that is going to age very badly, but that’s their problem. If Sony is happy to step in, good for them.
If the deal goes through, it reunites Scott with Sony after Napoleon, and continues what has become one of the most relentlessly productive directing careers in Hollywood history. Can you believe that at 88 years old, he is showing zero signs of slowing down. In fact, Scott seems genuinely determined to keep making films faster than most directors can finish storyboarding one. There is something totally inspiring about that.
As for Jackman, well, the man adds yet another iconic character to an already extraordinary résumé. Wolverine. Jean Valjean. P.T. Barnum. Most recently Robin Hood in The Death of Robin Hood. And now Long John Silver, who is arguably literature’s most famous pirate and one of its greatest antiheroes. Jackman has thrived in roles that demand charisma, intelligence, dangerous unpredictability, and someone who is impossible to fully trust. And that’s the reason why he is excellently suited for this role.
For anyone who needs a quick refresher on why this story still matters. Here goes. Robert Louis Stevenson published Treasure Island in 1883 and helped shape the modern pirate mythology we know today. Stevenson gave us the parrot on the shoulder, the treasure map with an X, the wooden leg, and the mutinous crew. He was also responsible for the morally complicated relationship between a boy and a man who was simultaneously his mentor and his greatest threat.
Jim Hawkins stumbles across a map belonging to the notorious Captain Flint. He sets sail on the Hispaniola in search of buried riches, and spends the entire journey trying to figure out whether Silver is protecting him or planning to kill him. That unpredictability is a brilliant setup which has never really stopped working. And it is for this reason that nobody is complaining about the approximately four hundredth adaptation.
The screenplay is by Jack Thorne, whose work on Adolescence earlier this year earned widespread, well-deserved acclaim. He’s also serving as an executive producer, alongside Scott producing under his Scott Free banner with Michael Pruss. Talk about an interesting creative pairing. Scott has the knowledge on how to build sweeping cinematic worlds that feel lived-in and enormous. While Thorne knows how to find the emotional core underneath the spectacle and make you actually care about the people inside it. Together, this could be the version of Treasure Island that finally does the novel full justice.
So it is still early days with no release date and no other casting mentions beyond Jackman. But Treasure Island has been adapted more times than you can count, and most of those versions have been perfectly fine and immediately forgettable. This one feels different. Not because of the story, which has always been great, but because of the people assembled to tell it. And sometimes that’s really all it takes.
Grab a map. Find the X. We’re going back to sea.
