Step back in time and embrace your inner swashbuckler! Lucy Liu, the iconic star of Charlie’s Angels and Kill Bill, brings to life one of history’s most ruthless and cunning leaders in the thrilling new VR adventure The Pirate Queen: A Forgotten Legend. Based on the real-life exploits of Zheng Yi Sao (also known as Ching Shih), The Pirate Queen places you aboard a 19th-century ship teeming with danger, treasure, and a pirate queen on the rise. This VR game, a collaboration between Liu and British filmmaker Eloise Singer, will immerse you in a story likely absent from your history class.
Who Was Zheng Yi Sao?
Far from the stereotypical pirate image, Zheng Yi Sao was a cunning and formidable leader. Beginning her journey as a courtesan, she quickly rose through the ranks of a pirate family after marriage. Following her husband’s mysterious death, she skillfully seized control and expanded their fleet into a dominant force. With over 1800 ships and 80,000 pirates under her command, Zheng Yi Sao proved a brilliant strategist. Notably, she established a strict code promoting equality between men and women on her ships, an exceptionally forward-thinking concept for the time.
“I was genuinely surprised that I had never heard of her,” Liu admits. “The fact that she rose from humble origins and became such a powerful figure is truly compelling.”
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Singer, drawn to this often overlooked historical figure, explains her inspiration for the project: “Zheng Yi Sao’s story is fascinating. She led an immense force during the Opium Wars and championed equality within her fleet, which was extraordinary for the time.”
While Lucy Liu is no stranger to strong female roles, bringing Zheng Yi Sao to life in VR was a unique experience. “The one thing I learned with doing voiceover in VR is that it’s got to be very quiet and intimate,” Liu explained. “I didn’t really take that into account when I read the script, but that’s nice because it’s such an intimate experience with the player.”
Liu found it rewarding to inject subtle nuances into her portrayal of Shih: “Adding a little bit of personality within that quietness is something that I really enjoyed and found quite fun… [Shih was] ruthless, but combined with how smart she was, you have a small window to add a little bit of personality within the game.”
Ready to try The Pirate Queen: A Forgotten Legend? It’s available now on Meta Quest.
