The 2026 Treasure Island is not simply a new cast performing Robert Louis Stevenson’s familiar pirate adventure. The six-part MGM+ and Paramount+ adaptation reshapes relationships, changes who drives the action, and gives the treasure map new importance. The biggest changes are about agency: who makes decisions, who holds the information, and who gets to shape Jim Hawkins’s journey.
Quick answer: Bess Hawkins appears to be the most reworked character because the series places Jim’s mother at the center of the journey. Jim Hawkins ranks close behind because his unusually powerful memory changes the map’s importance. Long John Silver remains the familiar dangerous rival, but David Oyelowo’s interpretation gives the character a serious, layered presence.
This is an editorial ranking of how much the characters’ roles appear to change—not a ranking of acting talent or morality. It draws on the official series description, published cast information, and the adaptation’s stated premise. Because the six-part story is still unfolding, later episodes may change the order.
How the ranking works
The order considers four factors: how far a character’s role moves from the familiar novel, how much new agency the adaptation gives them, how strongly they affect the central treasure-map conflict, and how much their new role changes Jim’s relationships. A high rank means a larger apparent reinvention—not necessarily a better character.
1. Bess Hawkins — the biggest shift in narrative power
Played by Hayley Atwell
Bess ranks first because she is not simply part of Jim’s life before the adventure. The official series description follows mother and son together as they acquire Captain Flint’s map and travel aboard the Hispaniola. That shift puts Bess directly inside the danger and gives her choices that can affect the direction of the story.
A more active Bess can negotiate, judge potential allies, take risks, and disagree with her son. The treasure hunt therefore becomes more than a coming-of-age story: it is also about a parent trying to protect a child when the usual rules of safety no longer apply. This expanded role is one of the clearest signals that the adaptation wants to rethink Stevenson’s story rather than merely reproduce it.
2. Jim Hawkins — a familiar hero with an extraordinary new advantage
Played by Tom Sweet
Jim remains the young protagonist whose life changes when he encounters the treasure map, but the new series gives him an unusually powerful memory. This is not merely a character flourish: it changes the plot’s practical rules. If the map is lost or destroyed, Jim may still retain the information everyone else needs.
That gift also makes him vulnerable. He can become strategically valuable before he has the experience to understand the danger of being the only person who remembers crucial details. His challenge is not just to solve the mystery, but to survive the attention his memory attracts. The idea could make this Jim distinct if the series treats it as both an advantage and a burden rather than a convenient shortcut.
3. Long John Silver — a familiar rival with a new screen identity
Played by David Oyelowo
Silver’s central function remains recognizable: he is an ambitious, dangerous sailor whose plans revolve around Flint’s treasure. The change lies in emphasis. David Oyelowo brings a serious, calculating presence to the role, and the adaptation frames Silver as a complex power player rather than a broad pirate caricature.
The casting also adds a perspective that many earlier versions did not foreground. Entertainment Weekly’s first-look coverage discussed Oyelowo as the first Black actor to portray Silver in a screen adaptation and the production’s interest in the historical presence of Black pirates. That context does not settle every question about historical accuracy, but it gives this interpretation a distinct cultural frame.
Silver ranks below Bess and Jim because his basic place in the story remains intact. The adaptation changes the texture of the character more than it changes his function in the treasure hunt.
4. Aaron Graham — a new route into a world of competing loyalties
Played by Jack Huston
Aaron Graham is a major structural addition to the adaptation’s web of relationships. The series describes him as a revolutionary spy, giving Bess and Jim another potential ally whose motives may not perfectly match their own. His offer of help can solve an immediate problem while creating a new question: can the Hawkinses trust the person offering protection?
Graham broadens the story beyond a straightforward hunt for gold. He brings politics, strategy, and private agendas into the same space as the treasure map. His final place in this ranking will depend on how fully later episodes develop his loyalties and history.
5. Billy Bones — the familiar warning that starts the crisis
Played by Tomer Capone
Billy Bones remains close to the classic story’s function: his connection to Captain Flint’s treasure brings danger to the Hawkins family’s door. But his role is still crucial. Bones connects the present conflict to the older world of piracy and turns the map from a mysterious object into a prize people are willing to fight over.
He ranks below the central trio because his broad story purpose is more familiar. The challenge for the adaptation is to make him feel like a survivor carrying dangerous knowledge, not simply a device that sets the plot in motion.
6. Captain Smollett — authority under pressure
Captain Smollett still represents order aboard the Hispaniola, but the adaptation’s expanded web of private motives makes authority harder to maintain. A captain can control a ship’s routine without necessarily controlling the bargains and schemes unfolding among passengers and crew.
That gives Smollett a useful role in the drama: he represents rules in a story where nearly everyone has a second purpose. His change appears less radical than Bess’s or Jim’s, but the crowded power struggle around him can make the familiar role feel newly pressured.
7. The supporting crew — the ship as a pressure cooker
The sailors and officers help make the Hispaniola feel like a closed environment where information, loyalty, fear, and influence can shift quickly. The more the series gives the crew distinct interests, the more the voyage can feel like a struggle for control rather than a straight line toward buried treasure.
The available official descriptions offer less evidence of major individual reinvention among these supporting roles, so they rank lower here. That is a limit of the public information, not a verdict on the performers or what later episodes might reveal.
What the ranking reveals about the 2026 adaptation
The largest changes cluster around agency. Bess takes a more active part in the journey; Jim’s memory changes what it means to possess the map; and Silver is framed as a layered opponent whose charisma is part of his danger. Graham adds competing loyalties, while Bones continues to connect the Hawkins family to the older world of piracy.
These choices may divide fans. Viewers seeking a close adaptation may see the additions as distractions from Stevenson’s original balance. Those open to a reimagining may welcome a story where the mother is not left behind, information can survive the destruction of a map, and power depends as much on trust as on weapons. The real test is whether the changes deepen the characters or simply make the plot busier.
Frequently asked questions
Which Treasure Island character changed the most in the 2026 series?
Bess Hawkins appears to be the most substantially reworked in terms of narrative role. The series makes her a central participant in the journey with Jim rather than leaving her mainly at the edge of his adventure.
Why is Jim Hawkins different in the 2026 adaptation?
The series gives Jim an unusually powerful memory. That changes the treasure-map conflict because the information can remain with him even if the physical map is lost.
Is David Oyelowo’s Long John Silver different from earlier versions?
The core role remains recognizable, but Oyelowo’s portrayal emphasizes Silver’s complexity and dangerous charisma. The production has also discussed the historical and cultural context of casting a Black actor as Silver.
Who plays Bess Hawkins, Jim Hawkins, and Long John Silver?
Hayley Atwell plays Bess Hawkins, Tom Sweet plays Jim Hawkins, and David Oyelowo plays Long John Silver.
Is this an official MGM+ character ranking?
No. It is an editorial comparison based on the published premise, cast information, and the apparent scale of each character’s change. It is not an official ranking from MGM+ or Paramount+.
Sources and further reading
- Paramount+ UK & Ireland: official series guide and first-look images
- Playground Entertainment: official production and cast information
- Entertainment Weekly: David Oyelowo’s Long John Silver and the adaptation’s approach
- Rotten Tomatoes: season and episode guide
By Shivam Das
