Robert Louis Stevenson's 1883 novel has been adapted so many times that Long John Silver practically has his own SAG card — but the package that landed in Hollywood this week is the kind that makes development slates move fast. Hugh Jackman is set to star in a new adaptation of Treasure Island, with Ridley Scott in the director's chair and Jack Thorne writing the script, according to Deadline, which first reported the project's arrival on the market.
The combination carries weight in any room it enters. Jackman, fresh off the sustained awards conversation around his recent dramatic work, is the sort of star who can open a prestige adventure film on name alone. Scott, at 87, continues to operate at a volume and ambition most directors half his age do not match — Gladiator II crossed $460 million worldwide last autumn, quieting any suggestion that his commercial instincts had dulled. Thorne, for his part, has become one of the most in-demand adapters working, with theatrical and screen credits that range from literary estates to major franchises.
Treasure Island has a complicated track record at the multiplex. The 1990 Charlton Heston version came and went. The 2002 Muppet iteration became a cult item for a specific generation of babysitter-era viewers. Disney's Treasure Planet arrived the same year and underperformed badly enough to shift the studio's animation priorities for most of the following decade. A version anchored by this level of talent — and aimed squarely at adult audiences — would be a different proposition entirely.
Studios and streamers are expected to begin circling the project immediately. No buyer has been confirmed as of the time of publication.