Why Black Sails Season 5 Isn't Happening & What It Would've Been About

Summary Black Sails season 4 was the last due to the co-creators' planned ending, but the series finale seemingly set up potential spinoffs.

The co-creators considered a season 5 based on Treasure Island but decided to keep the show and book separate.

There are no plans for a Black Sails continuation.

While Black Sails season 5 won't be setting sail anytime soon (seeing as Starz ended the show after season 4), here's what it could have been about. Black Sails is an epic historical adventure series made by Starz and follows the bloody misadventures of a crew of pirates. The show also acts as a prequel to Robert Louis Stevenson's Treasure Island, providing an origin story for Long John Silver. The first season of Black Sails focused on a treasure hunt, with later seasons following the battle for control of New Providence between the pirates and the British Empire.

While the show could be dark and violent, Black Sails also had a great cast of characters such as Captain Flint (Toby Stephens) and Charles Vane (Zach McGowan), and a real sense of adventure. Starz announced the show would come to an end with Black Sails season 4, and while there are currently no plans for further seasons, the final episode set up a couple of potential spinoff ideas. Let's explore what Black Sails season 5 could have been about, and if the show could return in some form.

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Why Black Sails Ended With Season 4 (Was It Canceled?)

The Black Sails Series Finale Aired On April 2, 2017

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Months before Black Sails season 4 premiered, Starz announced that the ten-episode season would be the show's last. However, the historical adventure series didn't end because it had poor ratings or reviews — the producers just felt as if Black Sails' story had come to a natural end, and they believed season 4 would be a good place to conclude the show. If they took it any further, they would have to start adapting the events of Treasure Island. So, Starz didn't cancel Black Sails, as it was simply time for it to end. Per TVLine, co-creator Jonathan E. Steinberg said:

"While it was a difficult decision for us to make this season our last, we simply couldn't imagine anything beyond it that would make for a better ending to the story nor a more natural handoff to [the story of] Treasure Island."

Black Sails Cast Character Toby Stephens Captain James Flint Hannah New Eleanor Guthrie Luke Arnold "Long" John Silver Jessica Parker Kennedy Max Tom Hopper Billy Bones Zach McGowan Charles Vane Toby Schmitz Jack Rackham Clara Paget Anne Bonny Mark Ryan Hal Gates Hakeem Kae-Kazim Mr. Scott Sean Cameron Michael Richard Guthrie Louise Barnes Miranda Barlow

Black Sails Season 5 Could Have Adapted Treasure Island

The Season 4 Finale Ended Right Before The Events Of Treasure Island

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From the start, co-creators Robert Levine and Jonathan E. Steinberg planned for Black Sails to end close to the beginning of Treasure Island. The idea was that viewers could go right from the end of the show and immediately dive into the book, but with a new context. Some fans wondered if a potential Black Sails season 5 would follow Luke Arnold's Long John Silver into an adaptation of Treasure Island but with the series' distinctly adult tone. That theory never came to fruition, though.

Black Sails season 4 gave all the main characters a satisfying ending but finished with a sense that some of them would have more adventures.

Levine and Steinberg admitted to Deadline they considered an adaptation as a potential concept for Black Sails season 5. However, the co-creators also felt the show and the book were two distinct entities that should be kept separate. Steinberg explained:

"We talked about a bunch of different versions of ways the show could go on. A few of them felt interesting and felt like things that might be fun together. But they didn't quite feel like the show, and I think the closer we got to the book, the more it felt apparent that the book is the book, and the show is the show. They can talk to each other, and they can inhabit the same universe, but for them to overlap just didn't quite feel right."

There have been many adaptations of Treasure Island in the past. So, if Levine and Steinberg were to continue Black Sails after the series finale, they probably wouldn't adapt Robert Louis Stevenson's classic tale. Instead, the co-creators would focus on other characters for a possible Black Sails season 5. During the interview with Deadline, Steinberg revealed:

"If there were more story to tell, I have a feeling that [Jack] Rackham, and [Anne] Bonny, and Mary [Read] would be right in the middle of it."

Related Black Sails: The True Story Of Pirate Charles Vane & Why He Was So Famous While Black Sails created an entertaining story, the series drastically changed the true story of the famous Golden Age pirate Charles Vane.

How Black Sails Season 4 Set Up Several Spinoffs

Black Sails Season 5 Didn't Have To Follow Long John Silver

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Black Sails season 4 gave all the main characters a satisfying ending but finished with a sense that some of them would have more adventures. The show introduced real-life pirate Mary Read at the end of the final episode, who jumps on a ship with Jack Rackham and Anne Bonny. On one hand, this sets up the fact that they will live on beyond the historical adventure show's end. But it also feels like it is teasing a potential spinoff following Rackham, Bonny, and Read (like what Jonathan E. Steinberg touched on during his Deadline interview).

Black Sails is available to stream on Netflix, Starz, and The Roku Channel.

This is another direction the showrunners considered for Black Sails season 5, but for now, there are currently no plans to continue the show. The series provides something of a happy ending for Captain Flint, so the character is unlikely to return for any continuation. While fans would like to see the Black Sails take on Treasure Island, it doesn't appear the showrunners were keen on that angle.

Black Sails Where to Watch *Availability in US stream

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buy Not available Not available Not available Acting as a prequel to Robert Louis Stevenson's Treasure Island, Black Sails chronicles the story of Captain James Flint, detailing how Flint turned from a British Naval officer to a notorious pirate and his adventures with his crew in the Caribbean. Toby Stephens stars as Flint, and the series features many fictionalized versions of real-life pirates such as Anne Bonny and Blackbeard. Cast Toby Stephens , Hannah New Release Date January 25, 2014 Seasons 4 Showrunner Michael Bay

Sources: TVLine, Deadline