In January, 1670, feared pirate captain Henry Morgan set out on the largest venture of his career – to plunder the gold of Panama. Answering his call, 2000 buccaneers on 36 ships assembled to prepare an attack. Once Morgan took over Fort San Lorenzo, he led his crew on a rough 16-day journey through the dense, almost impassable jungle. The Spaniards were prepared for Morgan, and six hundred cavalry swooped down on the pirates. Thousands of muskets fired; both sides took their losses, but the pirates held their ground. A stampede of 2000 Spanish bulls did not deter the pirates, and the Spanish finally fled in retreat. The city belonged to the buccaneers, and yielded 100,000 British pounds. Unfortunately at that time, England was no longer at war with Spain. Morgan was arrested and recalled to England and thrown into the dungeons to stand trial as a pirate. However, King Charles II, learning about Morgan’s great deeds, instead pardoned and knighted him in 1673, making him Lieutenant-Governor of Jamaica.
The story of Wicked City lies on the cusp of the great earthquake of 1692 that devastated England’s most important colony of its time, Port Royal, Jamaica. Dubbed the “wickedest city on Earth”, Port Royal got its name as a haven for pirates, who routinely indulged in debauchery and excessive drunkenness. Based on the climactic final years of the life of Sir Henry Morgan, the most famous and feared of all pirate captains, Wicked City deals with aspects of slavery, war, peace, politics, religion, and the fated corruption by human nature.
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Written by Craig Bond, to be directed by him. Projected running time is 180min, projected rating in North America is R, to be shot on 35mm color film in a 2.35:1 ratio.
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