Apple is adapting Terry Gilliam’s ‘Time Bandits’ into a television series, and they just brought Taika Waititi onboard. He will co-write and direct the pilot of the show.
Here’s a general rundown of the film’s premise:
“A dark, irreverent adventure about imagination, bravery and the nature of our dreams. It follows the time-traveling adventures of an 11-year-old history buff named Kevin. One night, he stumbles on six dwarfs who emerge from his closet. They are former workers of the Supreme Being who have stolen a map that charts all the holes in the space-time fabric, using it to hop from one historical era to the next in order to steal riches. Throughout the movie, they meet various historical and fictional characters, including Napoleon Bonaparte and Robin Hood, while the Supreme Being simultaneously tries to catch up to them and retrieve the map.”
Sounds like perfect source material for Waititi! He grew in popularity thanks to his most recent film ‘Thor: Ragnarok.’
However, he got a following due to his earlier films, such as ‘Boy’ and ‘Hunt for the Wilderpeople.’
As for television, he has several episodes of HBO’s ‘Flight of the Conchords’ under his belt.
Recently, Waititi was the season finale director on the upcoming Star Wars series ‘The Mandalorian.’ That show is coming to the Disney+ streaming service later this year.
He also was the director of the pilot for the FX series adaptation of his acclaimed film ‘What We Do in the Shadows.’ The series of the same name premieres March 27th.
Lastly, he is currently finishing up his next feature film ‘Jojo Rabbit,’ which Fox Searchlight is releasing this fall.
Further, the Apple ‘Time Bandits’ series does not yet have a series order, and the streaming service is launching this summer or fall.
Source: Deadline