Time travel is a popular topic on television lately. It’s not necessarily the most original, but TV networks are jumping on the bandwagon. We can’t blame them. There are so many ways you can twist a time travel storyline, and anything is really possible with time travel. Apple TV is going retro, however, and sourcing back to the 80s for something that might be truly spectacular. Terry Gilliam’s Time Bandits was an automatic cult favorite when it came out in 1981. That film featured an awesome cast and an even cooler story. There are all good reasons why this film should be remade today, and the good news is that Apple TV is making it happen. Here are a few things we know about the upcoming Time Bandits remake so far.
1. Terry Gilliam
It’s never a good sign when the writer and director of an original film want nothing to do with a remake project. We’re pleased to report that this is not the case with Time Bandits. According to TVline.com, Terry Gilliam is ready to executive produce the series. Apple TV is working hard (and spending a lot of money) to get their project off the ground, and they’re doing this project justice by getting Gilliam on board. However, Gilliam is not signing anything unless Time Bandits is really happening. At the moment, he’s still unsure how much involvement he’s going to have with the entire project. Gilliam knows that his creative hand on the show is important to everyone else involved, but Gilliam might have other ideas. For now, he’s ready to do it once the idea is finalized. Considering that the show is knowingly in production, it might be safe to assume that Gilliam is fully on board. He’s joined as executive producer by another talented filmmaker, Dan Halsted. Some of Halsted’s best works include Garden State (2004), The Virgin Suicides (2000), and Nixon (1996).
2. Taika Waititi
Kudos to you if you know whom Waititi is. It might mean that you’re a fan of Thor: Ragnarok or maybe just a fan of good cinema altogether. Waititi has had a string of big projects lately, and Apple was more than ready to have him on board Time Bandits.Waititi will play the roles of writer and director for the entire project, and the thought of that alone is getting us excited like no other. Waititi has a unique style and voice, and Gilliam obviously trusts in the director’s skills. However, Gilliam is particularly concerned about getting the nuisances of the film to the tee. He wants to make sure that Waititi captures the magical notion of the story without sacrificing comedy. Comedy is something that seems to be natural for Waititi, so we’re more interested in how he’s going to present the magical aspects of Time Bandits. Waititi’s work with the Marvel Cinematic Universe might be some of the best preparations any director could ever hope for. With Waititi helming the project, we could easily say that it’s in great hands. Speaking of that, we might get a glimpse of Waititi on the show as a random character. Waititi is popular for playing the role of Korg in Ragnarok. The show will have plenty of opportunities for random characters that Waititi could choose from. Maybe he’ll even write out a character specifically penned for himself.
3. Release Date
Apple is keeping a lot of information about Time Bandits under wraps, and that might mean a good thing. According to this article, the show was under production in the first few months of the year. This might mean that production is either wrapping up or already finished at this point. With regular production schedules, this then means that we might be looking at an early 2020 release. There’s still a possibility that we might get a later release in the year, especially if the production is bigger than we all anticipated.
4. Cast
As of today, details about who’s going to be in the remake are relatively unknown still. It’s hard to imagine that Apple has kept this all under wraps, except that they have. Casting might be extra tricky for this project considering the original had some incredible names on the list. Some of Time Bandits original cast included the likes of Sean Connery and John Cleese. That’s certainly hard to top off, but we have a few outstanding options as to whom we’d like to see in the remake. Young actor Jacob Tremblay is an easy pick to play the lead role of 11-year old Kevin, but that’s just what we think. It will be amazing if any of the old cast members have roles in the remake. That would certainly be something.
5. Production
Some more production details have surfaced in recent months. We now know that Time Bandits will boast the collaborative efforts of production companies Anonymous Content, Paramount Television, and Media Rights Capital. One of Anonymous Content’s most recent projects is Netflix’s Outlaw King.Paramount Television is a subsidiary of Paramount Pictures. Media Rights Capital is responsible for the release of the recent film Dora and the Lost City of Gold. There are a lot of great films among these production companies, so the outlook for Time Bandits is certainly good.
6. Trailer
In the meantime, Apple has not released any trailers for Time Bandits whatsoever–not even a teaser trailer. There are a few reasons as to why Apple TV might be holding on to picture details. In terms of production, any information released prematurely might prove to be bad for certain shows. If the show is still currently in production, it might just not be the time to release any trailers. If that’s the case, then it’s also possible that we might see Time Bandits more towards the middle to end of 2020. When its ready, the remake will be released and streamed exclusively on Apple TV.
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