Fantasy adventure show Time Bandits is set to release on Apple TV+ on July 24.
Created by New Zealander duo Jemaine Clement and Taika Waititi, alongside English writer Iain Morris, best known for creating British teen sitcom The Inbetweeners, the series serves as an adaptation of the 1981 cult classic movie of the same name, telling the story of 11-year-old Kevin’s journey through space and time with a ragtag group of thieves. Actor Kal-El Tuck will play the role of Kevin.
The film’s poster
Creators Jemaine and Taika are also set to appear as ‘Supreme Being’ and ‘Pure Evil,’ and Lisa Kudrow of Friends fame will portray Penelope, who will be guiding the group of pirates on their quest.
Taika expressed his excitement for casting Lisa, as he is a huge fan of the actress. “I just love Lisa and thought it’d be awesome to see her leading a band of idiots through time,” Taika said in an interview.
Taika and Jemaine revealed that their motivation for creating the series comes from the long-time collaborators’ love for the original movie, which starred Terry Gilliam, John Cleese and Michael Palin, as well as Sean Connery, Shelley Duvall (of The Shining fame) and Ian Holm.
TALENT: Jemaine, left, with Taika
“It was just nothing I’d really ever seen before. I remember being freaked out by a lot of it. A lot of the kids’ films back then were not as inventive and imaginative,” Taika explained.
“I was pretty young, so it would have been one of the bigger introductions to Terry Gilliam and British comedy. Seeing John Cleese as Robin Hood is still one of the funniest scenes in any movie, I think,” Jemaine added.
Jemaine and Taika are best known as the masterminds behind the well-loved What We Do in the Shadows universe, which started as a 2014 mockumentary horror comedy film, later adapted into a TV series of the same name by FX Networks. The series, which premiered in 2019, is still ongoing and currently consists of five seasons.
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