In what could be a piece of perfect casting, Nick Frost has signed on to portray Captain Pugwash in a live-action feature film adaptation of the beloved British children’s character. John Hay (There’s Only One Jimmy Grimble) is writing and directing, while Jason Flemyng will also feature in the cast.
Pugwash will follow the bumbling and cowardly pirate captain of the the Black Pig and his crew as they set off on a mission to rescue Tom the Cabin Boy’s father, who has become marooned on a volcanic island with a hoard of treasure protected by an army of angry ghosts. And to make things more complicated, Pugwash soon finds he has the infamous pirate Cut-Throat Jake on his tail.
“Besides Winston Churchill and Henry VIII, Captain Horatio Pugwash seems like a role I was born to play,” said Frost (via THR). “I cannot wait to get going.”
“Today’s audiences are going to love our funny, fresh, indie take on Pugwash,” added producer Justin Johnson. “It will be as if Peter Cook had run into Blackadder at a party, had a few too many rums and set off on a mad voyage together. In fact a lot of the time we think it will be adults who will be dragging their kids along to see what we’ve made of their childhood hero.”
Created as a series of comic strips and books by John Ryan, Captain Pugwash spawned three TV series in 1957, 1975 and most recently with 1998’s animated series The Adventures of Captain Pugwash.
Originally published May 21, 2017. Updated April 16, 2018.
