Can Yaman | Sandokan

• Genre: Action, drama
• Based on: the Sandokan novels by Emilio Salgari
• Developed by: Jan Maria Michelini, Nicola Abbatangelo
• Story by: Alessandro Sermoneta, Davide Lentieri, Scott Rosenbaum
• Directed by: Jan Maria Michelini, Nicola Abbatangelo
• Starring: Can Yaman, Alanah Bloor, Ed Westwick, Alessandro Preziosi, John Hannah
• Theme music composer: Guido & Maurizio De Angelis, Calibro 35
• Composer: Calibro 35
• No. of seasons: 1
• No. of episodes: 8
• Executive producers: Jan Maria Michelini, Daniele Passani, Corrado Trionfera
• Producers: Matilde Bernabei, Luca Bernabei, Michele Zatta, Andrea Ozza, Andreana Saint Amour Di Chanaz
• Cinematography: Valerio Evangelista, Alessandro Pesci, Mirco Sgarzi
• Editors: Alessio Doglione, Melodie Caudal
• Running time: 51–61 minutes
• Production companies: Lux VideRai Fiction
• Network: Rai 1
• Release: 1 December – 16 December 2025

Borneo, 1841. Amid the British colonial rule of the region, Sandokan is a pirate who sails the South China Sea together with his faithful friend Yanez de Gomera and the rest of his international crew. While boarding a cargo ship belonging to the Sultan of Brunei, Sandokan frees a mysterious prisoner, who believes him to be the prophesied warrior who will free his people from foreign oppression. On the island of Labuan, home of the British consulate, he meets the daughter of the consul, Marianna Guillonk, known as the "Pearl of Labuan" for her beauty and indomitable nature whereby she rejects all of her rich suitors. Their encounter awakens in her a sense of adventure that she is unable to express within the strict Victorian societal norms and brings her closer to Sandokan, with whom she shares an endless struggle for freedom. However, between the two comes Lord James Brooke, a charming pirate hunter and adventurer at the helm of the Royalist frigate, who is ready to do anything to capture Sandokan and win Marianna's heart. At the heart of the Bornean jungle, everyone will finally face a choice: Marianna will have to overcome her doubts and insecurities and choose between Brooke and Sandokan; Brooke's ambitions will clash with his vulnerabilities; and Sandokan, a simple pirate living day by day, will discover his true identity and become the "Tiger of Malaysia".

"The Tiger of Malaysia"

Sandokan and hs pirate crew board a ship and free Dayak prisoner Lamai, who is persuaded that his liberator is the destined warrior foretold in an ancient prophecy. After landing in Labuan, where he hides behind the false identity of "Ismail", Sandokan finds himself clashing with pirate hunter James Brooke during a tiger hunt, and meets Marianna Guillonk, the daughter of the widowered English consul.

"The Pearl of Labuan"

The Guillonks host a ball to celebrate Marianna's 21st birthday. Both Brooke and Sandokan are invited, and tension arises during the party, fuelled by the arrival of the Sultan of Brunei. Marianna's servant, Sani, is from the subjugated Dayak people and confronts Sandokan over the prophecy. However, he is in Labuan to free his friend Yanez and the rest of the crew, who have been imprisoned by the British. Whilst liberating them, Sandokan is forced to kidnap Marianna and Sani, who were wandering near the dungeons.

"Hostage"

The pirates set sail with the goal of looting the Sultan's antimony mines, where the enslaved Dayak labour, but Brooke and Sergeant Murray chase him in order to rescue Marianna. As the young lady begins to grasp the extent of the atrocities committed by the British colonial forces, Sani manages to have a brief encounter with her enslaved brother Afan, from whom she had been forcefully separated in her childhood.

"Singapore"

The crew find refuge in Sandokan's native country of Singapore, where his tuberculosis-ridden mother Nur still lives. Even though Brooke and Murray are after him, Lord Guillonk agrees to pay the pirates a ransom in exchange for his daughter's freedom. During the celebrations for the Lunar New Year, Marianna warms her feelings towards Sandokan, whose background story she has learned. However, when she is about to be entrusted to Brooke, the Sultan's men carry out an ambush and the pirates rush to escape, taking the ransom and hostages with them; Nur reveals she is not Sandokan's biological mother, shortly before dying from the wounds sustained in the ambush.

"The Heart of the Jungle"

Brooke starts working to thwart the Sultan's plan, which is to conquer Lord Guillonk's trust and take Brooke's place as his successor. Meanwhile, Sandokan heads to find his real roots in a Dayak village in Sarawak. There, he is captured alongside Marianna and the crew by Lamai and Sani's tribe, who make him duel with a snake to prove he is the Dayak liberator from the prophecy, as Sani claims. As he fights the effects of the snake's venom, he has flashbacks from his childhood and remembers his parents and his real name.

"In the Dark"

Sandokan survives, even though he temporarily loses his sight, and is welcomed by the tribe. The following day, the Sultan's soldiers force some of Sani's relatives to lead them to the Dayak village, with Brooke and Murray stalking them, disobeying Guillonk's order to abort the rescue mission. As his crew is set to depart for Jakarta, Sandokan, now in love with Marianna and at peace with his identity, decides to stay in Sarawak to free his people, but finds out Lord Guillonk is the killer of his family. Having reached the village, Brooke and his men rescue Marianna and take Sandokan as a prisoner.

"Death of a Pirate"

Sandokan is captured and taken to the Sultan's palace. Marianna, now back in Labuan, confronts her father over his killings and the Sultan's oppressive rule on the Dayak. She is filled with doubts about Brooke's good faith and Sandokan's destiny; diagnosed with hysteria, she is further shocked to find out the truth about her mother's death. Meanwhile, Brooke's Hindu maid Hita is outed as his mother, resulting in Marianna's family rejecting him.

"The Cost of Victory"

Seeking to take revenge against the Sultan and the Consul, Brooke helps Marianna stage Sandokan's suicide by poisoning so he can escape his death sentence; however, he requests in exchange that she give up her love for him. Once back among the Dayak, Sandokan leads them in battle against the Sultan's forces. The crew find themselves at crossroads in their lives, too, with Yanez making peace with his past and returning to assist Sandokan. Brooke takes advantage of the Dayak rebellion to urge Guillonk into nominating him Rajah of Sarawak in place of the Sultan and suppress the revolt, but finds the opposition of Sergeant Murray. Marianna's aunt, regretting her past mistakes, helps her niece flee her arranged marriage to join Sandokan.