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With everything that Taika Waititi has going on just on the television side alone (FX’s What We Do in the Shadows & Reservation Dogs, and HBO Max’s Our Flag Means Death), we forgot that Waititi was teaming up with Apple TV+ for a series adaptation of Terry Gilliam‘s 1981 film, Time Bandits. Well, we got a reminder about it in a big way with the news that Lisa Kudrow (Friends, The Comeback) is set to lead the cast. In addition, Kal-El Tuck, Charlyne Yi (Always Be My Maybe), Tadhg Murphy (Conversations With Friends), Roger Jean Nsengiyumva (Tomb Raider), Rune Temte (Captain Marvel), Kiera Thompson, and Rachel House (Thor: Ragnarok). Described as “a comedic journey through time and space with a ragtag group of thieves and their newest recruit: an 11-year-old history nerd” by the name of Kevin (Tuck), the project was first announced in 2019, with Waititi as a co-writer and set to direct the first two episodes of the series.
Back when the news of a Time Bandits series was first announced three years ago, Gilliam spoke with Total Film, where he vented a level of frustration over having to learn about Waititi’s involvement pretty much the same way as everyone else. But the issue wasn’t about the project itself as much as it was about being kept in the loop. Though revealing that his role was that of a “non-writing executive producer,” Gilliam claimed that the title didn’t afford him even a heads-up about the news. Instead, he learned about is “via the web,” writing off the matter with, “so much for correspondence and information.”
Paramount Television Studios, Anonymous Content’s AC Studios & MRC Television are producing the series. Waititi executive produces with frequent collaborator Jemaine Clement, Iain Morris, and Garrett Basch, along with Handmade Films (producer of the original film).
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