Hugh Jackman Boards Ridley Scott’s Treasure Island as Long John Silver

If you thought Hugh Jackman was finished with the whole swashbuckling thing after Logan, think again. He’s just signed up to play one of the grandest pirates in all of English literature—Long John Silver—in Ridley Scott’s next big swing at the movies: a fresh adaptation of Robert Louis Stevenson’s ‘Treasure Island’. That’s proper, old-school adventure territory, with a director who knows a thing or two about grand spectacle.

A Scott & Jackman Joint

The basics: Ridley Scott, the bloke behind Alien and Gladiator (so basically your big Saturday telly epics), is directing. The script’s coming from Jack Thorne, who wrote Adolescence and a fair bit of celebrated TV. Thorne’s not just knocked up the script; he’s roped himself in as executive producer too. Scott himself is producing, naturally, along with Michael Pruss, via Scott Free—the director’s own outfit.

Hollywood’s Bidding War—Sort Of

Here's the funny bit: this new Treasure Island is being shopped around the Hollywood studios as we speak. There’s a bit of buzz, given the talent involved. 20th Century Studios—who had the first crack—said no, apparently because Disney (who own them) already have their own pirate juggernaut with Pirates of the Caribbean and aren’t looking to double dip on the pirate front. The point is, expect to see a big studio logo slapped on this one sooner rather than later, but for now, the boat hasn’t technically left port.

For Anyone Who’s Never Bothered to Read It

Every school kid in Britain gets told ‘Treasure Island’ is all about adventure, maps, and pirates, and that’s broadly right. Stevenson dreamt it up off a hand-drawn map for his nephew when they were on holiday in Scotland—casual genius, as you do. The story follows Jim Hawkins, a teenager who finds a map and gets swept up in a wild search for buried treasure, with grown-ups who are mostly useless or out to stab him in the back. Chief among the crew: Long John Silver, the sort of villain you secretly want to win. Stevenson’s first full-length novel, it absolutely rocketed him to fame and still lands on ‘best of’ lists today.

• Published: 1883
• Over 100 million copies sold worldwide
• Translated into more than 50 languages

Disney’s Space Pirates—Remember That?

Quick detour for nostalgia: Disney once took a punt on its own version, the 2002 animated film Treasure Planet. This one saw Jim Hawkins flying through space instead of sailing the high seas—a proper hybrid of 2D and early-2000s CGI that looked bonkers but kind of brilliant. Directed by John Musker and Ron Clements (same pair who did The Little Mermaid and Aladdin), it had Joseph Gordon-Levitt voicing Jim, plus an absolutely stacked cast: Brian Murray, David Hyde Pierce, Martin Short, Emma Thompson, and so on. Would I call it character-driven? Not really. The soundtrack’s not up to much either. But visually, it’s a treat—think Don Bluth gone sci-fi, or Windsor McKay with a spaceship. Alien critters everywhere, plenty to gawp at if you’re not fussed by the story.