Lucy Liu, Eloise Singer Look To Plunder Emmy Gold With VR Experience ‘The Pirate Queen’
When we think of notorious pirates of history, Jean Lafitte, Capt. Morgan, and Blackbeard leap to mind – impressively chevelured and bewhiskered British or Frenchmen who swash-buckled through the Atlantic, Caribbean, and the Gulf of Mexico. But in terms of larceny upon the high seas, they may have been eclipsed not by a man or a European, but by a Chinese woman: Cheng Shih.
Actress Lucy Liu brings the charismatic corsair back to life in The Pirate Queen, a VR experience from Meta and Singer Studios that immerses users in a 19th century world of intrigue and adventure. The narrative directed and produced by Eloise Singer and produced by Liu and Siobhan McDonnell is nominated for an Emmy in the category of Outstanding Emerging Media Program.
More from Deadline
Liu and Singer first learned of Cheng Shi somewhat randomly.
“I think both of us found out, not because we read about it, but because someone mentioned it and then we investigated it,” Liu tells Deadline. Adds Singer, “One of my friends literally just offhand said, did you know the most powerful pirate was a woman? And I was like, ‘No, that’s not true. Pirate’s a man!’ And she was like, no, genuinely, it was a woman in 19th century China who married the leader of a fleet. And then when he mysteriously died, she took over and commanded about 70,000 pirates in the lead up to the Opium Wars and became the most powerful pirate leader of all time.”
In the opening moments of The Pirate Queen, Liu as the voice of Cheng Shih sets the scene — the sound of lapping ocean water under her voice: “These are tumultuous times. In the 11th year of the Gaahing Emporer’s rule, China is beset by rebellions and sabotage… but in a world of crisis, there is always opportunity.”
Shih seized her opportunity to build a vast network of vessels in the South China Sea. After fending off rivals, she implemented widespread innovations.
“Not only was she this incredible leader, but she actually created this code of laws, which meant that men and women had to be treated equally on her ship,” Singer notes. “She was kind of a pioneer in paving the way for gender equality at a time where it was so challenging for women to at all be seen as equals.”
“She also kind of started a banking system,” continues Liu, “where instead of the loot being stolen and then just ‘to each his own,’ it was more that she created this financing system where they would be paid. It became a salary situation, and then people would be divvied their money… She would receive the funds and she would give it out equally to men and to women.”
In The Pirate Queen, users elect what to explore in the immersive environment, stepping along wooden docks, boarding moored junks and encountering canon fire from British marauders. It’s an invitation to “explore moonlit cabins, climb rigging, outsmart adversaries, and exercise your wit to seize control of the fleet.”
“You’re literally stepping into the shoes of the Pirate Queen and you’re hearing Lucy’s voice as you go through this journey,” Singer explains. “In a way, you are quite literally transformed into this character and transported back in time. And that’s so unique to VR.”
For Liu, who is known for the Charlie’s Angels films and Kill Bill, and TV’s Elementary and Ally McBeal, and has done voice work in the Kung Fu Panda movies, King of the Hill, and The Simpsons and other projects, playing Cheng Shih called for a unique mindset and approach.
“You’re kind of speaking in somebody’s ear essentially because you’re their thoughts,” Liu says. “It’s very different than anything I’ve ever had to do because normally they you have screaming and jumping and making sounds like you’re being punched. It’s so intimate, and at the same time you are going on this journey and exploring with them [the VR user] as them, so you have to be as present as possible. It’s not working with someone else in a dialogue situation. It’s just sort of your inner thoughts, which is quite different.”
The Pirate Queen, winner of the Storyscapes Award at the 2023 Tribeca Festival, combines elements of gaming, historical exploration and narrative storytelling, all based on extensive research.
“With this project we brought in a huge number of researchers and sensitivity checkers and fact checkers to ensure that what we were creating in the world was reflective of the time and place. To be able to discover that accurately is really exciting and really important,” says Singer. She points to one example: “The ships that we created, we initially designed them with nails. And then we went and spoke to our researchers and they came back and said, well, actually at the time in China, we built our ships with dovetailed joints. So then we had to remove all of the nails from all of the ships.”
Perhaps taking their cue from Cheng Shih, Singer and Liu intend to build an empire around buccaneers of the Cheng stripe.
“There’s actually 17 other pirate queens [that were] out there. It’s pretty fascinating that it was not just Cheng Shih,” observes Liu.
“We’re starting with the story of Cheng Shih, which is an amazing story, and then growing it out… into a franchise,” says Singer. “Lucy and I are developing a graphic novel, and that series will tell the stories of all of these different pirate queens, and we’re also developing it into an animated TV series as well. The idea of creating something from VR, which is such an immersive part of a new medium of storytelling and such an engaging part of storytelling and being able to now expand it into different mediums is really exciting. And I think that The Pirate Queen is gonna take over the world.”
The Pirate Queen marks a return to the Emmys for Liu, after her nomination in 1999 for David E. Kelley’s acclaimed Fox series. “I was nominated once a long time ago for Ally McBeal, and I didn’t really know what was going on,” she confesses, noting that this time around she can be more mindful of the experience. “It’s just wonderful and it doesn’t come along all the time, if ever at all. So, enjoy that moment, enjoy that time… It’s just a moment in the sun, and it’s wonderful to be a part of that.”
Best of Deadline
How To Watch Kamala Harris' Acceptance Speech During Final Night Of Democratic National Convention
Everything We Know About 'My Life With The Walter Boys' Season 2 So Far
Sign up for Deadline's Newsletter. For the latest news, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
