STARZ ADDS THE INFAMOUS ‘BLACKBEARD’ TO “BLACK SAILS” PIRATE CREW WITH CASTING OF RAY STEVENSON FOR SERIES’ THIRD SEASON

Starz Releases Behind-the-Scenes Teaser for Season Three set to Return in 2016

Beverly Hills, Calif., March 24, 2015 -Starz announced today the casting of Ray Stevenson (“Rome,” Divergent), as the iconic pirate ‘Blackbeard,’ also known as ‘Edward Teach,’ on the Emmy®-winning Original series “Black Sails.” One of the most notorious pirates to have ever lived, ‘Edward Teach’ (‘Blackbeard’) returns to settle some unfinished business, but a great deal has changed during his absence, and he will have to disrupt cemented alliances and challenge new ones to achieve the impossible.

Starz also released a new behind-the-scenes ‘first look’ at season three which is currently in production in South Africa. The teaser will air on STARZ following the season two finale and includes a peek at the dreaded marauder ‘Blackbeard.’ The season two finale will air on Saturday, March 28th at 9 pm ET/PT exclusively on STARZ.

“Black Sails” is created by executive producers Jonathan E. Steinberg (“Jericho,” “Human Target”) and Robert Levine (“Touch”) and is also executive produced by Michael Bay (Transformers, Armageddon, Pearl Harbor) and his Platinum Dunes partners Brad Fuller and Andrew Form, producers on Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and The Purge. “Black Sails” follows the most feared pirate of the day, Captain Flint (Toby Stephens), and his men, and takes place twenty years prior to Robert Louis Stevenson’s classic “Treasure Island.” Chris Symes and Dan Shotz also serve as executive producers.

Ray Stevenson is best known for his critically and publicly acclaimed portrayal of the legionary ‘Titus Pollo’ in the HBO/BBC television series “Rome,” and also appeared as ‘Isaak Sirko’ in the critically acclaimed Showtime series “Dexter.” Stevenson appeared in the 2014 blockbuster Divergent, and will reprise the role of ‘Marcus Eaton’ in the 2015 follow-up film, Insurgent.  Additional film credits include starring as ‘Volstag’ opposite Chris Hemsworth and Natalie Portman in the Marvel Comics’ blockbuster Thor, opposite Denzel Washington and Gary Oldman in the post-apocalyptic The Book of Eli, as ‘Frank Castle’ in The Punisher WarZone for Lionsgate/Marvel, as ‘Dagonet’ in King Arthur, as ‘Danny Green’ in Kill the Irishman with Christopher Walken, and in Billy Bob Thornton’s dramatic comedy Jayne Mansfield’s Car.

Stevenson joins “Black Sails” star Toby Stephens, Hannah New as ‘Eleanor Guthrie,’ Luke Arnold as the classic character, ‘John Silver,’ in the years before his well-known feats, Jessica Parker Kennedy in the role of ‘Max,’ a young prostitute with an eye towards advancement, Tom Hopper as the “Treasure Island” character ‘Billy Bones,’ Zach McGowan as ‘Captain Charles Vane,’ a rival pirate to Captain Flint, Clara Paget as the deadly ‘Anne Bonny,’ and Toby Schmitz as ‘Jack Rackham.’

For more information, go to the official “Black Sails” Facebook Page and follow @BlkSails_Starz on Twitter and Instagram. Join the conversation with #BlackSails and #STARZ. 

About Starz

Starz (NASDAQ: STRZA, STRZB) is a leading integrated global media and entertainment company with operating units that provide premium subscription video programming on domestic U.S. pay television channels (Starz Networks), global content distribution (Starz Distribution) and animated television and movie production (Starz Animation), www.starz.com.

Starz Networks is a leading provider of premium subscription video programming through the flagship STARZ^® and ENCORE^® pay TV networks which showcase premium original programming and movies to U.S. multichannel video distributors, including cable operators, satellite television providers, and telecommunications companies.  As of December 31, 2014, STARZ and ENCORE serve a combined 57.3 million subscribers, including 23.3 million at STARZ, and 34.0 million at ENCORE, making them the largest pair of premium flagship channels in the U.S.  STARZ^® and ENCORE^®, along with Starz Networks’ third network MOVIEPLEX^®, air more than 1,000 movies monthly across 17 linear networks, complemented by On Demand and authenticated online offerings through STARZ PLAY, ENCORE PLAY, and MOVIEPLEX PLAY. Starz Distribution develops, produces and acquires entertainment content, distributing it to consumers globally on DVD, digital formats and traditional television.  Starz Distribution’s home video, digital media and worldwide distribution business units distribute original programming content produced by Starz, as well as entertainment content for itself and third parties.  Starz Animation produces animated TV and movie content for studios, networks, distributors and audiences worldwide.