Scripted

Sandokan the international event series produced by Lux Vide (Fremantle) in collaboration with Rai Fiction, will premiere on December 1 on Rai 1 and Tivùsat after its presentation at the Rome Film Festival. Inspired by Luca Bernabei and based on Emilio Salgari’s classic novels, the series has been developed by Alessandro Sermoneta, Scott Rosenbaum and Davide Lantieri, and directed by Jan Maria Michelini and Nicola Abbatangelo. Fremantle will distribute the series worldwide, with Mediterráneo Mediaset España Group handling Spain.

Fifty years after the original Rai hit, the legendary pirate returns to television. Set in mid-19th century Borneo, the story follows Sandokan, a free-spirited pirate who sails the South China Sea with his loyal friend Yanez. His destiny changes when he rescues a Dayak prisoner who sees him as the hero of an ancient prophecy, and when he meets Marianna Guillonk, the strong-willed daughter of the British consul known as the “Pearl of Labuan”. Their unexpected bond challenges social conventions and ignites a dangerous rivalry with Lord James Brooke, a ruthless adventurer and pirate hunter.

Filmed across Reunion Island, Lazio, Tuscany and Calabria—with the English colony of Labuan recreated in Lamezia Terme—the series features Can Yaman as Sandokan, Alanah Bloor as Marianna, Alessandro Preziosi as Yanez, Ed Westwick as Lord Brooke, and John Hannah as Sergeant Murray.