Ridley Scott is attached to direct a new film adaptation of Treasure Island, with Hugh Jackman set to play Long John Silver and the package scheduled to hit the market Monday.
Jack Thorne wrote the screenplay and will serve as an executive producer; Scott and Michael Pruss are producing for Scott Free. The package is expected to draw every major studio when it is shopped, a strong-market signal for what backers see as a commercial tentpole. 20th Century received a first look at the material but passed after deciding it would complicate Disney’s own priority: the studio’s live-action unit is focused on Pirates of the Caribbean and does not want a competing pirates project.
Treasure Island is not a casual property. Robert Louis Stevenson’s novel was published in 1883, has sold more than 100 million copies worldwide and has been translated into over 50 languages. Its central hook — a boy finds a map to buried treasure and confronts the charismatic, treacherous Long John Silver — explains why studios treat the material as both a commercial opportunity and a creative responsibility.
The Disney pass is the story’s friction point. On paper this is an A-list assembly: Scott as director, Jackman as a marquee lead and Thorne as the writer; in practice, any studio that takes the project will be weighing the scale and branding risks of a pirate-set adventure against Disney’s near-exclusive ownership of big, live-action seafaring franchises. That reluctance is why 20th Century declined after its look, and why the market next week will show whether other studios are willing to compete where Disney has opted out.
Practical details are straightforward: the package goes to buyers Monday and will be shopped to every major studio. If a bidder emerges, preproduction will likely follow quickly with Scott and Jackman attached; Thorne’s executive-producer credit signals the creative team’s intent to remain closely involved. Scott’s production company, Scott Free, is leading the pitch, which frames the film as a large-scale period adventure anchored by one of Hollywood’s more bankable leading men.
For historical context and tonal reference, Treasure Island has been adapted repeatedly — most notably as the animated Treasure Planet in 2002, directed by John Musker and Ron Clements, with Joseph Gordon-Levitt voicing Jim Hawkins and Brian Murray as Long John Silver — underscoring how flexible Stevenson’s story can be across formats and eras. Scott’s next film, The Dog Stars, is scheduled for release in August, a reminder that he is juggling multiple projects as this package goes to market.
The immediate question is not whether the material can support a major studio release — it can — but whether any studio is willing to mount another pirate-scale picture while Disney maintains Pirates of the Caribbean as a priority. The answer will arrive in the bids and the deal sheet after Monday: the studio that breaks from Disney’s restraint will shape the production’s budget, marketing and creative latitude, and that choice will determine whether Scott and Jackman make Stevenson’s island the next tentpole on the studio map.
