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‘Treasure Island’ Officially Returns With First Trailer
MGM+ has released the first trailer for a new six-part television adaptation of Robert Louis Stevenson’s Treasure Island. The series stars David Oyelowo as Long John Silver and follows Jim Hawkins and his mother as they become involved with a treasure map, a legendary pirate and a British agent with a hidden agenda. The adaptation matters for casting Oyelowo as the first Black actor to play the iconic pirate in a major screen version, while acknowledging the historical presence of African-descended pirates.
The trailer introduces Tom Sweet as Jim Hawkins and Hayley Atwell as his mother, whose discovery of the map sets the adventure in motion. Oyelowo’s Silver retains familiar elements including the peg leg and parrot, while the story expands the conflict around the treasure hunt and its competing factions. Created by Robert Murphy and directed by Jeremy Lovering, William McGregor and Paul Walker, all six episodes are scheduled to premiere exclusively on MGM+ on Sunday, 11 October.
In short
- MGM+ has unveiled the first trailer for a new Treasure Island adaptation.
- David Oyelowo plays Long John Silver in the six-part miniseries.
- All episodes premiere on MGM+ on 11 October.
Explained simply
Robert Louis Stevenson’s Treasure Island is an adventure novel about Jim Hawkins, a boy drawn into a search for buried treasure after discovering a map. The story centres on the people competing to reach it, including the pirate Long John Silver, whose charm and shifting loyalties make him a central figure.
Silver has become one of popular culture’s best-known pirates, often shown with a peg leg and a parrot. Pirates came from varied backgrounds, including people of African descent, though screen versions have not always reflected that history. David Oyelowo’s casting brings that representation into a major adaptation of the story.