Taika Waititi is an extremely busy man. The actor/director has many projects in the works including the highly-anticipated Thor: Love and Thunder, and his new series, Our Flag Means Death, just released its first three episodes on HBO Max. This week, Waititi paid a visit to The Late Late Show with James Corden to promote the new action-comedy series. During the chat, Waititi revealed that he has a special tradition that kicks off all of his projects.ย
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When Corden asked about the special way Waititi starts a film, the star joked that he eats someone at the beginning of every production. However, he went on to reveal the truth, and it’s pretty awesome. “The thing we do, usually, what we do in New Zealand and Australia is that you basically invite the native people whose land you’re on to come do an opening ceremony for the beginning of your shoot,” Waititi explained. “It’s a really nice way of beginning any production and it creates a lovely vibe and kind of is a peaceful sort of clean and good energy while you’re shooting.” You can watch Waititi’s interview below:
Our Flag Means Deathย is executive produced by Waititi and is based loosely on the adventures of Stede Bonnet, who will be played by Rhys Darby. The show follows a pirate who is a little too nice for his chosen profession, and Waititi plays Blackbeard. Bonnet is a farmer and child of wealth who goes through a bit of a mid-life crisis. He ends up running from the farm to captain a pirate ship called the Revenge. Of course, Bonnet doesn’t know the first thing about what it means to lead a life of crime on the open seas, so the comedy of the series will likely come from those adjustments. In real history, Bonnet sailed along the Eastern United States captured other sailing vessels.
“They are like an old married couple in certain ways,” showrunner David Jenkins toldย EW, speaking about the relationship between Darby and Waititi. “If a scene isn’t quite working, Taika will be able to grumble about Rhys, and vice versa, in the way that only friends can. And then when it is popping, they know how to get the best out of each other. There’s a generosity and a real sweetness between them that you wouldn’t get if you weren’t using those two friends.”
The first three episodes of Our Flag Means Death areย now streaming on HBO Max. They will be followed by another three on March 10th, two on March 17th, and the final two on March 24th.
