‘Treasure Island’ Trailer Sets Sail With David Oyelowo’s Long John Silver and a Fighting Bess Hawkins
Robert Louis Stevenson’s pirate adventure has been adapted so often that it seems to have nothing left to surprise us with. It has been a favorite for Orson Welles, the Muppets, a prestige prequel in ‘Black Sails’ and even a take set in the ‘Star Wars’ universe with ‘Skeleton Crew’. MGM+ is betting there is still room for one more, and its version now has a trailer to prove it.
The new ‘Treasure Island‘ series arrives this fall as a six-part reimagining of the classic. It comes from Playground Entertainment, the company behind ‘Wolf Hall’, with ‘Vera’ writer Robert Murphy as creator. Jeremy Lovering, William McGregor and Paul Walker direct.
On Thursday, the streamer released a 2 minute 24 second trailer for the series, starring David Oyelowo and Hayley Atwell. The show premieres Sunday, October 11 on MGM+ in the US and on Paramount+ in the UK and Ireland the following day. New episodes arrive weekly through November 15 in the US and November 16 in the UK and Ireland.
A grittier voyage than the one you remember. #TreasureIsland, starring David Oyelowo and Hayley Atwell, premieres October 11 on #MGMplus. pic.twitter.com/SWJvJFwgqw
— MGM+ (@mgmplus) September 24, 2026
The key art and footage set up a stormy, pirate-heavy world, with Oyelowo’s Long John Silver wearing a hat and a green parrot on his shoulder, flanked by Jim and Bess Hawkins in front of a ship under a dark sky. The story follows young Jim Hawkins (Tom Sweet) and his mother Bess (Hayley Atwell) as they come into possession of Captain Flint’s legendary treasure map. It pulls them into a brutal race for riches and into conflict with both the British Navy and a band of pirates.
The official pitch describes the series as a bold, high-stakes coming-of-age adventure. Jim’s transformation from a sheltered boy to an emboldened young pirate is the core arc. Bess’s clever and decisive actions leave him holding valuable knowledge that puts both of their lives in danger.
Bess is the biggest twist on the source material. She appears only at the start of Stevenson’s novel, but here she joins her son on the voyage. Executive producer Scott Huff has said the writer described her as a single mother running an inn for sailors, so she has developed a set of skills that help her navigate a dangerous world.
Oyelowo, whose credits include ‘Selma’, ‘Silo’ and ‘Lawmen: Bass Reeves’, takes on the peg-legged pirate. One outlet has described the casting as the first time a Black actor has played Silver on screen. Atwell, who also appears in ‘Avengers: Doomsday’, stars alongside Sweet, who is known for ‘Great Expectations’.
Jack Huston plays Aaron Graham, and Tomer Capone of ‘The Boys’ plays Billy Bones. The ensemble also includes Craige Els of ‘Andor’ as Mr. Arrow, Tristan Sturrock of ‘Poldark’ as Captain Smollett and Neil Pendleton of ‘Outlander’ as Mr. Cameron.
MGM+ chief Michael Wright called the show a perfect expression of the MGM+ brand and described it as classic Hollywood storytelling for a contemporary audience. The production shot in Spain, with filming beginning in March and wrapping in April
The timing is interesting. Ridley Scott is developing his own big-screen take with Hugh Jackman as Long John Silver, so Oyelowo is entering a competitive field. A six-episode format gives the series room to dig into characters and alliances that a film would have to rush.
The premiere also lands in a busy week. It debuts days before Marvel’s ‘VisionQuest’ and the ‘Friday the 13th’ prequel ‘Crystal Lake’. Even so, a well-cast pirate drama may be exactly the kind of adventure that gets audiences to try something different.
What do you think of David Oyelowo as Long John Silver in Treasure Island?
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