Taika Waititi is well known for casting the best in his often eccentric but always hilarious productions, even if the best is occasionally himself. So for his newHBO Maxproject, it might be a bit weird to see aGame of Thronesalum joining the party, but still somehow not unexpected. Looks like there will be a bit of door holding inWaititi’s upcoming pirate-themed comedy series. What, too soon?
Kristian Nairn, known for playing beloved character with a simple vocabulary Hodor in HBO’sGame of Thrones, has joined the series titledOur Flag Means Deathand will play a character known as “Wee John Feeney.” He’ll be joined by fellow talent such asPenny Dreadful’s Rory Kinnear,Chernobyl’s Con O’Neill, and actor/writer Nathan Foad in the HBO Max limited series, making it rather appropriate that his next big role stays in the same general company.
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Our Flag Means Deathwill loosely follow the life of Stede Bonnet, a wealthy aristocrat who grew tired of his comfortably numb life and decided to become a privateer. Bonnet will be played by New Zealand actor and longtime Waititi collaborator Rhys Darby, whileWaititi will take on the role of Blackbeard, one of the most famous and feared pirates of all time. Given how he played the character of Hitler inJojo Rabbit, it seems fairly likely that Blackbeard will sport a good bit of wackiness in this particular portrayal.
Nairn’s John Feeney may well be a completely original character, given the series' rather fast and loose take on historical events. In fact, odds are the whole series will simply use the basic story to go wildly off the rails in its own comedic directions. As a side note, however, sharp-eared gamers out there might recognize the name Stede Bonnet fromAssassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag, seen as one ofthe best pirate games of all timeby many. So this may be one of the first times where a video game version of a historical figure ends up being the most true to life take on the individual’s tale.
While Nairn has mostly kept a relatively lower profile since the finale ofGame of Thrones, he hasn’t slowed down completely. Aside from appearing in projects like Nathan Fillion seriesThe Rookie, he also regularly performs as a DJ. So maybe rather than pulling in some subtle Hodor jokes,Our Flag Means Deathcan bring on some anachronistic trance music for Wee John Feeney to jam out to. Hey, it wouldn’t be the weirdest thing a pirate story has done,just askSea of Thieves: A Pirate’s Life.
Our Flag Means Deathis, of course, still in production, and has no release date to speak of. But hopefully this casting news gives intrigued potential viewers plenty of reasons to keep an eye on it in the meantime.
Our Flag Means Deathis set to air on HBO Max.
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