Leslie Jones and Nat Faxon are taking to the seas, as Variety is reporting that both actors have joined the HBO Max original comedy Our Flag Means Death.
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The comedy, which is loosely based on the true adventures of pampered aristocrat turned pirate Stede Bonnet, stars Rhys Darby as Bonnet, and also features Taika Waititi as Blackbeard, one of the most feared and revered pirates of all time.
Jones and Faxon join a cast that also features the likes of Ewen Bremmer, David Fane, Nathan Foad, Joel Fry, Samson Kayo, Guz Khan, Rory Kinnear, Matt Maher, Kristian Nairn, Con O’Neil, and Vico Ortiz. After her roles in Coming 2 America, Supermarket Sweep, and her longtime spot as a cast member on Saturday Night Live, Jones has continued to branch out into other programs, with the pirate comedy being the latest.
According to the official synopsis, “Our Flag Means Death is loosely based on the real-life adventures of Stede Bonnet (Darby), a well-to-do gentleman farmer from a wealthy family who, after undergoing a midlife crisis, elects to leave and become the captain of Revenge, a pirate ship in the early 18th century.”
The period comedy series is created, written, and executive produced by David Jenkins (People of Earth), who is also serving as showrunner. Executive producers are Waititi, Garrett Basch, and Dan Halsted.
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The series marks the fifth collaboration between Darby and Waititi, which began when the former starred in the cult-favorite HBO series Flight of the Conchords, on which Waititi was a writer/director, and followed by the mockumentary film What We Do in the Shadows. Their next project together is Searchlight Pictures’ sports comedy film Next Goal Wins, starring Michael Fassbender (Dark Phoenix) and Elisabeth Moss (The Invisible Man).
