Actor and filmmaker Taika Waititi has been announced as the lead of Apple’s creative team behind their upcoming series Time Bandits, which is based on the Terry Gilliam-directed movie of the same name.
Fans of the Marvel Cinematic Universe will remember Waititi for the smash hit, Thor: Raganarok, while his other directorial credits include HBO’s Flight of the Conchords and FX’s upcoming American adaptation of What We Do In the Shadows.
Those familiar with the comedian’s work, can expect to see Waititi’s signature quirky style in Disney+’s upcoming Star Wars series, The Mandalorian, while his other upcoming project being Jojo Rabbit, which will be released this fall.
Waititi will co-write and direct the first episode for the series, which is still in the early stages of production development. He will also co-produce the show alongside Anonymous Content, Paramount Television and MRC. Director Terry Gilliam and producer Dan Halsted are also onboarding as the show’s producers as well.
According to Deadline, just last summer Apple inked a deal with Gilliam for the rights to his film and announced they planned on turning the fantasy adventure into a potential television series. And although an adaptation has long been rumored by Gilliam to be in its early stages, Apple has yet to announce whether the newer series will be a spin-off, reboot, or a sequel of some sort.
1981’s Time Bandits, was infamous for being produced by George Harrison of The Beatles and starred James Bond himself, Sean Connery, in one of its lead roles. Shelley Duvall, Ian Holm, Ralph Richardson, John Cleese, Peter Vaughn, Katherine Helmond, Michael Palin, and David Warner also rounded out the cast.
The original film followed the time-traveling adventures of a child named Kevin, who finds solace in reading about history’s assortment of stories and characters. And one night after finding six dwarves in his closet, the 11-year-old has the chance to meet the very same fabled heroes he’s always read about.