According to Variety, David Franzoni, who wrote Amistad and Gladiator for the studio, will pen Blackbeard, which delves into the life of British buccaneer Edward Teach.

The genesis of the project is a tale in itself. The idea for the project was first hatched when producer Barry Josephson (Enchanted) enlisted motivational speaker and former Philadelphia 76ers president/co-owner Pat Croce to make a cameo in his 2002 basketball film, Like Mike. Croce is apparently a bit of a pirate fan as he wrote “Pirate Soul,” a book that chronicled the golden era of piracy (which spanned 1690-1730) as well as the upcoming kids book “My Pop-Pop Is A Pirate.” Croce wrote a treatment for the film which he sent to Josephson in December of 2006. The pair later brought aboard Franzoni who began working on the pitch right after the writer’s strike ended.

Croce, who, interestingly enough, also owns a pirate museum in Key West, Florida, is collaborating closely with Franzoni on the screenplay.

Franzoni also recently completed a draft of Childhood’s End, based on the Arthur C. Clarke novel.

I don’t want to ruin this for anyone, but Blackbeard eventually dies a pirate’s death.