Absolutely — here’s a full blueprint for a historical fiction naval warfare series or film that’s authentic, diverse, thrilling, and character-driven, while bringing a fresh, modern perspective to a classic genre. Think Master and Commander meets The Woman King, with the tone of Peaky Blinders at sea and the world-building of Black Sails — but grounded in historical realism and emotional stakes.
Title:
“IRON TIDE”
Tagline:
“The ocean forgets nothing. But it remembers the bold.”
Genre:
Historical Fiction / Naval War Drama / Adventure
Format: Limited Series (6–8 episodes per season) or Feature Film
Tone: Gritty, poetic, brutal, witty, and emotionally rich
Style: Character-first war epic meets high-stakes, wave-crashing spectacle
Setting:
Historical Backdrop:
Late 18th century — the edge of the Age of Sail. Colonial empires are beginning to strain, revolution is rising, the transatlantic trade is brutal and booming, and piracy is bleeding into privateering. Naval warfare is evolving, but so are the people forced into its machinery.
The story is set during the tail end of the American Revolution and on the eve of the Napoleonic Wars — but focuses on the underrepresented stories of sailors of color, ex-slaves, women in disguise, indigenous navigators, and defectors from all sides.
Concept Hook:
A captured slave ship is repurposed into a rogue warship, its crew a motley coalition of escaped slaves, deserters, sailors from broken nations, and women fleeing forced marriages or indentured servitude — who sail the Atlantic not for plunder, but for vengeance, freedom, and something that feels like belonging.
They fight everyone: the Royal Navy, privateers, bounty hunters, and even each other. Their weapon isn’t just cannon — it’s knowledge of every system that tried to erase them.
Main Characters:
1. CAPTAIN ISSA KANE (West African, 30s)
Former royal, kidnapped as a teen and enslaved. Freed during a shipboard revolt. Brilliant strategist and polyglot. Leads with restraint, trauma, and brutal logic. Has no country. Only purpose.
“We are not lost. We are unclaimed.”
2. ELIZA “THORN” GREAVES (Irish-British, late 20s)
Born poor, escaped indenture by joining the navy disguised as a man. Fought in three navies. Master gunner and tactician. Keeps a blade in her boot and whiskey in her coat. Fierce, loyal, and reckless.
“You don’t survive in the belly of a beast by being kind to its teeth.”
3. TAHI MATAU (Māori, 40s)
Shipwright, warrior, and spiritual compass of the crew. Former slave turned master craftsman. Fiercely quiet but deadly in a storm. Tattoos across his face are maps of battles survived.
4. JUAN DIEGO RIVERA (Mexican-Spanish, early 30s)
Former priest turned navigator. Left the Church after witnessing colonial horrors. Has a photographic memory, moral crisis, and secret addiction to opium. Sees maps as poetry. Loyal to Kane.
5. JIN-SU “POPPY” BAE (Korean-Chinese, non-binary, early 20s)
Escaped from a Dutch East India Company slaver ship. Inventor and mechanic. Constantly building dangerous contraptions. Has pet monkeys and a soft spot for the ship’s youngest crew.
6. THOMAS “TAM” HARTWELL (White American, 19)
Rich merchant’s son who stowed away to avoid being married off and finds himself in the real war. Soft-spoken, sensitive, slowly becomes a man in the fire.
Ship: THE BASTARD WIND
An ex-slaver refitted into a sleek, black-hulled warship. Reinforced for speed and ambush. No nation’s flag. Its figurehead is a jagged crown made from broken shackles.
Narrative Style:
• Authentic naval language and tactics, but accessible
• Handheld storm scenes, intimate crew life, slice-of-salt realism
• Diverse languages and dialects (with translation/subtitles when needed)
• Flashbacks reveal each crew member’s origin in thematic episodes
• Emotional stakes as high as the physical ones: trauma, found family, betrayal, survival
Plot (Season 1 or Film):
After taking the ship in a mutiny, Kane and his crew operate as rogue agents — hunting down known slavers and traitors across the Atlantic. Each port brings new threats: corrupt naval officers, bounty hunters, sabotage, inner dissent.
Their mission sharpens when they learn a massive British ship is being used to carry a new weapon designed to quell uprisings — and it’s headed toward the Caribbean.
To stop it, they must confront not just external warships, but their own ghosts, and the reality that freedom at sea may never mean peace on land.
Episode Guide (for Series Format):
1. “Stormborn” – The uprising. The ship is taken in a hurricane.
2. “Wormwood and Gunpowder” – Tensions rise as the crew debates what kind of ship they’ve become.
3. “The Hollow Cross” – Rivera confronts a ghost from his priesthood in Havana.
4. “Pale Flags” – Thorn faces off with her old captain.
5. “The Iron Sea” – Tahi builds a terrifying new weapon.
6. “Masthead” – A traitor is exposed.
7. “A Flagless Wake” – The crew buries one of their own after a failed raid.
8. “The Leviathan” – The Bastard Wind faces the British super-ship in a brutal battle under fire and storm.
Themes:
• Resistance as identity
• Found family in war
• Sea as sanctuary and grave
• Colonialism, class, race, and gender in war
• The personal cost of freedom
What Makes It Unique:
• Diverse ensemble not as tokenism — but as historically grounded truth
• Naval combat with modern emotional nuance
• Style-driven without losing realism: no pirates, no fantasy — just grit, water, blood, hope
• High-stakes action AND character transformation
• Real representation of who was on those ships — and who history ignored
Tone & Visual Language:
• Dark wood, ocean-gray skies, blood-red sails
• Chiaroscuro lighting in cabins; harsh sunlight at sea
• Minimal music in battle — replaced with breath, wind, and wood creaks
• Poetic narration in logbook voiceover
• Storms feel like gods. Silence feels like death.
Franchise Potential:
• Season 2: The Bastard Wind goes east — hunted by a new admiral
• Film Sequel: Revolutions spark across the Caribbean, and the crew must choose sides
• Graphic Novel: Tales from Below Deck — side missions and backstories
• Tabletop Game: Strategic naval warfare blended with moral choices
• Merch: Nautical flags, replica maps, “Wind Knows No Master” tee
Would you like to see a poster concept, an opening storm battle, or a character monologue from Kane or Thorn? Let’s set sail — history has new voices at the helm.
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