Since its inception in 2019, Apple TV+ has grown considerably, adding numerous original titles to its slate. Recently, some of them have been doing pretty well — yeah, I’m looking at you Foundation and The Last Days of Ptolomey Grey.
Back in 2019, however, shortly after its launch, Apple TV+ executives announced that the streaming service had acquired the rights for a reboot of the 1981 classic, “Time Bandits“. Most notably, the service announced some of the big names working on the project, such as Taika Waititi, the director of “Thor: Ragnarok”; he is set to direct the pilot episode of the show. Furthermore, Terry Gilliam, the creator of the original film, serves as executive producer of the series.
What is Time Bandits about?
Time Bandits is a classic time-travel masterpiece, and follows the adventure of Kevin (Craig Warnock), who is taken on the adventure of his life when he encounters a group of time-travelling dwarves. The dwarves, former employees of the Supreme Being, have stolen his map and travel to various points throughout time to pilfer priceless artefacts and treasures.
During their journey, they encounter several historical figures such as Napoleon (played by Ian Holm), and Robin Hood (John Cleese). Despite being released decades ago, the show has aged well over the years and still has a loyal fan base, thus, it is unlikely that the television adaptation will diverge much from the movie’s plot.
Who is starring in Time Bandits?
Time Bandits will have to be pretty thoughtful on who it casts if it ever wants to compete with the original movie, which had a pretty stellar cast with an ensemble of big name actors/actresses. Since there is no set date for the release of the show yet — or any indication that development has begun other than the green light — there have been few indications of who could be in the cast.
It was announced in September, however, that Lisa Kudrow would be headlining the cast. She is to be joined by Kal-El Tuck, Charlyne Yi, Tadhg Murphy, Roger Jean Nsengiyumva, Rune Temte, Kiera Thompson and Rachel House
The original movie starred the likes of Ian Holm, Shelley Duvall, Micael Palin and Sean Connery.
When will Time Bandits be released?
Despite being announced in 2019, there is no current release date, or timeline at all as it seems, for the release of Time Bandits. What we do know, however, is that Apple have held the rights for the television adaptation since 2018, so there’s been a pretty hefty amount of time for things to get rolling. Of course, the COVID-19 pandemic hindered this, but things don’t seem to have picked up since networks began producing content again.
There are other concerns that could be delaying the release of the show, however. Looper reports that there has been a lack of communication between the studios responsible for the show and Gilliam, who is executively producing the show. Gilliam announced that he had not been told about Waititi’s involvement with the show until he read about it online. It’s understandable that this made him mad, and the lack of communication is undoubtedly making things hard for the development of the show.
Gilliam also reports that he hasn’t signed an agreement or contract for the series, and refuses to do so until he approves the pilot, which makes us think that the tension between the studios and Gilliam is what could be delaying the release window for Time Bandits.
This is all we currently know about Time Bandits, but we’re sure to keep you updated as new information emerges about the show and a possible release date is announced.
