Chesapeake Bay boaters have known for years that Yorktown is charming, picturesque, and has a strong pirate vibe (the town’s annual festival, Pirates Invade Yorktown, is proof).
Now, Hollywood is in on the secret. Last week, a large film crew came to historic Yorktown to film a new movie called The Pirate King. Nearly 150 actors, extras, and crew filmed at various locations, according to tourism leaders, from the Watermen’s Museum to the iconic Coleman Bridge to sandy Yorktown Beach.
More of the movie is filming in Virginia Beach, Norfolk, and other spots in Hampton Roads. But the producers didn’t just choose to film on the Virginia waterfront because it’s scenic; elements of the The Pirate King are inspired by the adventures of a real Virginia Beach resident: Todd Willis, who runs a professional pirate reenactment group called The Loose Cannons.
The Pirate King stars actor Rob Riggle, known for acting in comedies Talladega Nights, Step Brothers, and The Hangover, among other films. In a role partly inspired by Willis, Riggle plays a former Marine suffering from PTSD who joins a group of pirate reenactors. (Riggle is also a real-life retired Marine who served at Ground Zero and in Afghanistan.)
His love interest is played by Jordana Brewster, who starred in seven Fast & Furious movies from 2001 to 2023. Brewster’s character and the pirate reenactors help Riggle’s character through his challenges fighting for custody of his daughter and rebuilding his life amid PTSD. Described as a “dramedy” by producers, the film touches on veteran assimilation after war and aims to give hope to former soldiers. It’s an issue that is felt around Hampton Roads, home to America’s largest naval base and other military bases.
The film is directed by Virginia Beach native Josh Plasse, an actor, novelist, and script writer who is the son of a Navy SEAL. He also happens to be Willis’s nephew. Producer Zak Kristofek is a Virginian, too. These local ties helped filmmakers tap into the pirate re-enactment community for the film, explains Virginia Film Office spokesperson Margaret Finucane.
Producer Ethan Lazar says many of the pirate scenes were filmed right on the sand at Yorktown. “We built a set there and shot for days,” he tells us. To make the pirate reenactment scenes especially convincing, the crew relied on Willis (you just might see him on screen) and the Loose Cannons for input. Some performers from Pirates of the Caribbean participated, and the stunts were planned by choreographers from the Superman movie franchise.
Lazar praises Plasse and Willis as ambassadors for the Hampton Roads and Yorktown areas. The Pirate King “really is a love letter to Virginia Beach and all of the surrounding areas,” Lazar says, noting the various landmarks featured in the film and even the military jets flying overhead.
The Virginia Film Office, whose mission is it bring filming and its economic impact to the Commonwealth, says the area is a natural draw for the film industry thanks to convenient-but-diverse locations, along with a great food and beverage scene and film-friendly locales.
The crew will be filming in the region for one more day, wrapping up Thursday and heading into post-production immediately after. Stay tuned for future announcements about The Pirate King‘s release.
