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Taika Waititi is turning Terry Gilliam’s 'Time Bandits' into a TV series

Sam Ashurst
·Contributor
‘Taika Waititi will re-imagine Terry Gilliam’s Time Bandits.
‘Taika Waititi will re-imagine Terry Gilliam’s Time Bandits.

Thor: Ragnarok director Taika Waititi has jumped onboard Time Bandits, a new TV adaptation of the fan favourite Terry Gilliam movie of the same name, which is currently being developed by Apple.

The series will transform Gilliam’s original movie, which was about a child who escapes his mundane life through the medium of dwarf-led time travel, into an ongoing series.

The premise has plenty of potential for a television series – it could basically be Bill & Ted meets Doctor Who in Waititi’s capable hands.

In the film, the young lead, Kevin, meets several historical figures, including Napoleon Bonaparte and Robin Hood. He also visits the sites of major historical events. All of which would work well in an episodic narrative.

Read more: Taika Waititi won’t direct ‘Guardians Vol. 3’

Taika is making significant moves in the streaming series business, directing an episode of Disney+’s upcoming Star Wars series, The Mandalorian.

The Mandalorian is coming to Disney’s streaming service.
The Mandalorian is coming to Disney’s streaming service.

He’s also been involved with shows on ‘proper’ telly, including HBO’s Flight of the Conchords and FX’s upcoming What We Do In the Shadows.

Read more: Here’s why Daredevil is disappearing from Netflix

But Time Bandits looks to be his biggest ongoing responsibility in the television landscape. Waititi will co-write and direct the pilot for the potential series, co-produced by Anonymous Content, Paramount Television and MRC.

Terry Gilliam’s classic original (credit: Avco Embassy Pictures)
Terry Gilliam’s classic original (credit: Avco Embassy Pictures)

He also will serve as executive producer alongside Gilliam and producer Dan Halsted (People Of Earth).

Read more: ‘I Know My Films Work Better for Some,’ Terry Gilliam says

Let’s hope Waititi keeps some room in his diary, as we’d really like to see him contribute to Disney+’s MCU series – which currently include Loki, Falcon and The Winter Soldier shows, with more surely to be announced.

Time Bandits isn’t the first Gilliam movie to be turned into a telly show, that honour fell to 12 Monkeys. We’ll be building a time machine before Time Bandits comes on air, if only to try to make sure it’s better than that boring series. With Taika Waititi involved, we’re sure it will be.