NBC isn't looking any further than its own Hannibal to find the right candidate to helm Crossbones, the new pirate drama starring Oscar-nominated actor John Malkovich.

Deadline reports the network has hired 30 Days of Night director David Slade to helm the first episode. It's only Slade's latest foray onto television, having served as executive producer and occasional director on the blood-spraying Hannibal, as well as Battlestar Galactica creator Ron Moore's upcoming Syfy series Helix.

In Crossbones, Slade will direct Malkovich as Edward "Blackbeard" Teach, the famed pirate who terrorized the West Indies in the 1700s. The series is set to launch on NBC during midseason, with no specific premiere date announced.

For Slade, Crossbones finally scratches the "high seas thriller" item off of the director's bucket list. Previously, Slade was attached to direct The Last Voyage of the Demeter, a vampire thriller about passengers on a boat who are picked off one by one by Dracula.