‘Time Bandits’ TV Series In Development By Taika Waititi For Apple
‘Thor: Ragnarok’ director Taika Waititi is developing a tv series for Apple based on Terry Gilliam’s ‘Time Bandits’ it has been revealed.
For those of you unfamiliar with Gilliam’s comedy cult-classic 1981 film, firstly, what have you been doing with your life? Secondly, stop what you’re doing and go and watch it. If you need a little more background, it follows the time-traveling adventures of an 11-year-old history buff named Kevin who, one night, stumbles on six dwarfs who emerge from his closet. They are former workers of the Supreme Being (Ralph Richardson) who have stolen a map that charts all the holes in the space-time fabric, using it to hop from one historical era to the next in order to steal riches. Throughout the movie, they meet various historical and fictional characters, including Napoleon Bonaparte (Ian Holm) and Robin Hood (John Cleese), while the Supreme Being simultaneously tries to catch up to them and retrieve the map.
Along with directing and starring as Korg in ‘Thor: Ragnarok’, Taika Waititi co-created the film ‘What We Do in the Shadows‘, which he has also turned into a tv series for FX in the US and will air on BBC Two later this year. His other work includes writing and directing ‘Flight of the Conchords’ with ‘What We Do in the Shadows‘ co-creator Jemaine Clement, directing the upcoming Star Wars series ‘The Mandalorian’, and writing/directing the upcoming movie ‘Jojo Rabbit’ starring Sam Rockwell, Rebel Wilson, Alfie Allen, and Stephen Merchant. He also has an acting role in the movie… as Adolf Hitler…
The structure for ‘Time Bandits’ is really the perfect setup for a tv show, with each historical jump marking a new episode. Other than Gilliam himself, we really can’t think of anyone more perfect than Waititi to take on the task of bring the cult-classic to the small screen.
Waititi is set to co-write and direct the pilot. Anonymous Content, Paramount Television and MRC are co-producing. He will also exec produce alongside Terry Gilliam and producer Dan Halsted (‘People Of Earth’). We should stress, this is only a pilot, so might not go to series, but we think it has strong potential to be picked up. We’ll let you know when we hear more.
