British director Neil Marshall (Dog Soldiers, The Descent) has been hired by Starz to direct the pilot of their upcoming Treasure Island prequel Black Sails; which will tell the story of Captain Flint and Long John Silver two decades before Robert Louis Stevenson's classic tale.
Marshall most likely got the job because of his expertise with low-budget, and it probably didn't hurt that he pulled off the impressive Game of Thrones action spectacular "Blackwater" with only a few weeks preparation time. He seems a natural fit for Starz, and will undoubtedly set a very clear tone and process for others to follow.
Black Sails is created by Jon Steinberg (Jericho, Human Target) and Robert Levine (Touch), being produced by Michael Bay (Armageddon, Transformers) and Platinum Dunes, and pre-production has started in Cape Town, South Africa. The eight-part swashbuckling actioner is expected to replace Starz's very popular Spartacus, so an early-2014 premiere is likely.
[source: Deadline]
