David Oyelowo and Hayley Atwell star in a new Paramount+ adaptation of Treasure Island that adds fresh layers to Robert Louis Stevenson's 1883 novel, redefining the pirate genre with deeper historical and racial context.
In this retelling, Long John Silver is portrayed as a former slave whose piracy is partly driven by his pursuit of freedom. Oyelowo, 50, becomes the first Black actor to play the iconic pirate, a casting choice that allowed him to 'untether' from previous portrayals.
A New Backstory for Long John Silver
Oyelowo told Metro that writer Robert Murphy's scripts 'acknowledge the historical, racial, and political landscape of the time,' offering a fresh take on the familiar story. 'It untethers me from some of those things that an audience might expect from Treasure Island, which is very helpful,' he said. 'We have the parrot, we have the peg leg, we have galleons, we have all of that good stuff. But there is more context and maybe even more stakes that come along with someone like me getting to play him, so that in and of itself was a relief for me.'
Atwell, 44, plays Bess Hawkins, the mother of Jim Hawkins, a character with a minor role in the original novel. In the 2026 series, Bess joins her son on his treasure hunt, a change that Atwell welcomed. 'There wasn't really the character of Bess. She's mentioned only in regards to having brought Jim Hawkins into the world, but beyond that, she had no real autonomy or storyline, and that was a real welcome addition to this show,' she shared.
Adding Female Representation to the High Seas
Atwell emphasized the importance of female representation in the series, noting that the original material offered little for women. 'It feels fair to say you need that female representation today. You can't have a show like this where there are just no women there, just because they're so sort of diluted in the original material,' she said. Her suggestions for Bess's arc were incorporated during filming, including adding her to a battle scene on deck and drawing inspiration from real historical female pirates like Grace O'Malley.
The actors' real-life friendship, spanning 20 years, added a unique challenge to their performances. Oyelowo described Atwell as 'one of his best friends in the world,' and admitted that filming a scene where Long John Silver is cruel to her was a struggle. 'I kept on looking at her, and this beautiful face of this dear friend of mine who I've known for so long, and I thought, the wheels are about to fall off,' he explained. Atwell faced a similar difficulty when Bess had to confront the menacing pirate, noting that Oyelowo transformed into 'an absolutely formidable, terrifying menace' while retaining a certain charisma.
A Genre-Defining Retelling
Oyelowo reflected on the significance of their casting, noting that neither he nor Atwell have typically been centered in such narratives. 'The great thing for Hayley and I, for her as a woman, me as a Black man, we have not been as demographics centred in this narrative, which is Treasure Island, or in this genre, which is pirate movies or TV shows,' he said. 'The fact that the agency that she has as a woman on that ship, and the fact that she gets to show these levels of complexity, and the fact that for me as a formerly enslaved person, the treasure is not just about greed; it's about freedom and power and gaining something that has been lost, having been so disenfranchised – these are complexities and stakes that thankfully, for us selfishly, haven't been seen in the genre necessarily before.'
Treasure Island is available to stream on Paramount+ UK & Ireland, with new episodes released weekly on Mondays, culminating in the season finale on Monday, November 16.
