Our Flag Means Death Trailer: Taika Waititi Is Blackbeard In HBO Max's Pirate Comedy Series

If you could do with a bit of Taika Waititi-style silliness between now and the release of "Thor: Love and Thunder" (as well as whenever "Next Goal Wins" reaches theaters), then you may want to give "Our Flag Means Death" a look judging by the newly-unveiled official trailer. The HBO Max comedy series is based on the real-life exploits of Stede Bonnet, an 18th-century English-Barbadian aristocrat who one day decided to leave his life of comfort behind and take up a far more dangerous career as a buccaneer — albeit, an unusually polite one, earning him the moniker "The Gentleman Pirate."

Rhys Darby stars in "Our Flag Means Death" as the show's version of Bonnet, with Waititi co-starring as the notorious pirate Edward Teach, AKA Blackbeard, on top of serving as an executive producer and directing the series' first episode. Darby also played supporting roles in the critically-acclaimed Waititi-helmed comedies "What We Do in the Shadows" and "Hunt for the Wilderpeople," and will show up again in "Next Goal Wins." That being said, most people probably know him for portraying the jovial non-playable character (or NPC) Nigel Billingsley in "Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle" and "The Next Level," as well as for his vocal acting on animated series like "Voltron: Legendary Defender" (where he voiced Coran).

"Our Flag Means Death" was created by David Jenkins ("People of Earth") and features a supporting cast full of actors that you've no doubt seen and/or heard one place or another in the past. Their ranks include "Saturday Night Live" alums Leslie Jones and Fred Armisen, as well as Nat Faxon ("Disenchantment"), Kristian Nairn (AKA Hodor from "Game of Thrones"), Rory Kinnear ("Penny Dreadful: City of Angels"), Ewen Bremner ("T2 Trainspotting"), and Samba Schutte ("Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order"). 

The show's official synopsis reads as follows:

The unique new comedy is loosely based on the true adventures of 18th century would-be pirate, Stede Bonnet, played by Rhys Darby. After trading in his comfortable life for one of a buccaneer, Stede becomes captain of a pirate ship, but struggles to earn the respect of his potentially mutinous crew. Stede's fortunes change after a fateful run-in with the infamous Captain Blackbeard, played by Taika Waititi.

While I wouldn't say that every joke lands in the latest trailer, on the whole, "Our Flag Means Deaths" continues to look like a cheeky good time that recalls HBO's quirky cult hit "Flight of the Conchords" (a show that Waititi tellingly worked on as a director prior to becoming a household name). This new promo even includes some meta-humor about the world of streaming and how it's quickly becoming overrun with reboots and revivals of older properties — with Blackbeard complaining about "how hard it is to find someone doing something original" in the world of pirating. If only for that reason, I'm willing to give this irreverent swashbuckler a shot when it arrives.

"Our Flag Means Death" begins streaming on HBO Max on March 3, 2022.