All Locations Made To Look Like The Caribbean

Summary Black Sails filmed all episodes in Cape Town, South Africa, not the Caribbean, for realism.

The show is a prequel to Treasure Island, focusing on Captain James Flint's pirate origins.

Multiple TV shows and movies, including Outlander, have used Cape Town Film Studios to capture their stories.

Black Sails was set in tropical places like the Bahamas and Tortuga as the characters searched for treasure and fought over control of New Providence — but the Black Sails cast and crew filmed the show's entirety on the other side of the Atlantic Ocean. Jonathan E. Steinberg and Robert Levine created the Starz historical adventure series as a prequel to Robert Louis Stevenson's 1883 book Treasure Island. While most pirate movies were DOA (before the success of Pirates of the Caribbean), Black Sails led to the genre's revival on television by portraying the grittier, nastier side of pirate life.

As a prequel to Treasure Island, the Starz television show reveals the origin of the British Naval officer turned pirate, Captain James Flint, played by Percy Jackson's Poseidon actor, Toby Stephens. While Black Sails season 1 revolves around a thrilling treasure hunt, the Michael Bay executive-produced series expands the story's scope with each subsequent season, including an epic conflict between the pirate protagonists and the British Empire. The cast of Black Sails also featured actors portraying real pirates (like Charles Vane, Blackbeard, and Anne Bonny) and bloody battles, but the show sadly ended with season 4 in April 2017.

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Cape Town, South Africa

Black Sails Was Filmed At Cape Town Film Studios

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Black Sails benefits from a real air of authenticity regarding its depiction of pirate life, including its portrayal of New Providence in the Bahamas and other locations such as Tortuga and, later in the show, London, England. Of course, a lot has changed since the so-called Golden Age of Piracy, so the production essentially had to start from scratch. It was never filmed in New Providence either, with the Starz historical adventure series being shot primarily in Cape Town, South Africa.

While Black Sails ended in 2017, there have been reports of potential spinoffs, with fans hoping to see a series that will tackle Treasure Island (instead of the events before the novel's story).

All four seasons and 38 episodes of Black Sails were filmed at Cape Town Film Studios in Cape Town, South Africa, and it took four months and hundreds of crew members to build the Nassau Island set for the show. The studio even constructed large water tanks to house the two pirate ships used for the sailing sequences, which were recreated using blueprints from the Golden Age of Piracy. Cape Town also offered the production a variety of terrain for scenes set outside the usual sets, such as the forested Maroon Island introduced in Black Sails season three.

All four seasons of Black Sails are available to stream on Netflix.

Even wintery Philadelphia, which the television series visits towards the end of Black Sails season 4, was recreated at Cape Town Film Studios. From the landscapes to the sets and crew available, Cape Town proved to be the perfect place to film the series, which is why it was entirely captured in the South African capital. While Black Sails ended in 2017, there have been reports of potential spinoffs, with fans hoping to see a series that will tackle Treasure Island (instead of the events before the novel's story). However, there don't appear to be any plans to bring the show back.

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

Related Black Sails: Captain Benjamin Hornigold's History With The Jacobites Explained Before becoming one of history's most notorious pirates, Captain Benjamin Hornigold was associated with the famous English Jacobite movement.

Cape Town Is A Popular Destination For Film & TV Productions

Movies & Shows Aside From Black Sails Have Filmed In South Africa's Capital

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Black Sails is not the only television (or movie) production to occur in Cape Town, South Africa, as several others have chosen the picturesque South African city as the backdrop for their stories. Aside from Black Sails, one of the most notable shows filmed in Cape Town is another Starz original — Outlander. Some Outlander season 3 episodes were captured on location in Cape Town and at Cape Town Film Studios. Additionally, sequences from Warrior, Mad Max: Fury Road, Maze Runner: The Death Cure, Good Omens, Doctor Who, and many other productions have utilized Cape Town Film Studios.

[Cape Town Film Studios is] the first "Hollywood-style" film studio complex built in Africa.

Cape Town Film Studios opened in May 2010 and has been a hot spot for significant television and movie shoots. It is described as the first "Hollywood-style" film studio complex built in Africa and offers plenty of amenities (like a Deep-Sea Tank) that are useful for numerous productions. Ultimately, it is easy to understand why Starz chose Cape Town, South Africa, as the primary (and only) filming location for all four seasons of Black Sails.