Lux Vide announced Sandokan as a new international production. The idea was inspired by the popular eleven adventure novels by Italian author Emilio Salgari, which tell the story of the legendary 19th century pirate Sandokan and his band, the Tigers of Mompracem, fighting against the colonial power of the Dutch and British empires in southeastern Asia. The show is supposed to be a fresh and modern take on the world of Salgari, with a strong female point of view from the brave heroines, such as Lady Marianna Guillonk.
Angkor Wat, a temple complex in Cambodia, was considered for one of the locations for Sandokan by Domenico Sica during location scouting.
Even though some distributors are not known yet, Sandokan (2025) is scheduled for release in Italy, France, the United Kingdom, Germany, Spain, South America, Middle East and South-East Asia.
The presentation of season 1 of Sandokan (2025) is planned for the 82nd Venice International Film Festival in late August or early September 2025.
Can Yaman is the sixth actor to to portray Sandokan on film and television after:
- Luigi Pavese in I pirati della Malesia (1941) and Le due tigri (1941)
- Steve Reeves in Sandokan, la tigre di Mompracem (1963) and I pirati della Malesia (1964)
- Ray Danton in Sandokan alla riscossa (1964) and Sandokan contro il leopardo di Sarawak (1964)
- Ivan Rassimov in Le tigri di Mompracem (1970)
- Kabir Bedi in Sandokan (1976), La tigre è ancora viva: Sandokan alla riscossa! (1977), Il ritorno di Sandokan (1996) and Il figlio di Sandokan (1998).