Taika Waititi: "Lately, there is not a great sense of adventure in series and comedies are no longer fun"

Taika Waititi, Jermaine Clement (What We Do in the Shadows) and Iain Morris (The Inbetweeners) are responsible for the new version of Time Bandits, the new Apple TV series, an update of the adventure and time travel movie directed Terry Gilliam in 1981, aiming to appeal to the nostalgic spirit of viewers who grew up with the original film, while captivating a new generation of viewers

The series has the same starting point as the movie, proposing an unpredictable journey through time and space with a colorful group of thieves and their new recruit: an 11-year-old history enthusiast named Kevin. Together they embark on an exciting adventure to save the boy's parents and the world while escaping evil forces and traveling through time to the creation of Stonehenge, witness the Trojan Horse in action, escape dinosaurs, or wreak havoc in medieval times.

EL ESPAÑOL spoke with Taika Waititi and Jermaine Clement, creators of the series, in a virtual interview before the premiere on Apple TV+, a conversation we reproduce below. 

How did the idea of making this remake come about, who told whom what?

Taika Waititi: A few years ago I was called to a meeting. I was in a large boardroom with many people and I thought I was going to be fired from some job, but then someone mentioned Terry Gilliam and asked me if I wanted to do something with this movie, and I said yes.

So I went straight to Ian Morris and Jermaine, people whom I knew loved Time Bandits like me and everything Terry Gilliam and the Monty Python had done to see if we could capture the essence and make our own version. 

Did you speak with Terry Gilliam at any point in the process?

Jermaine Clement: We didn't speak to him at any time. We hope he likes it. But if he doesn't, that's okay too.

TW: And it will also be too late.

JC: It was printed somewhere that he had come to the set and left angry. That's not true, he was never in the production nor was his agent. We would have loved to meet him, but it didn't happen.

"The role of the group's leader was written for a man, but I always wanted to work with Lisa Kudrow"

Taika Waititi

What other movies from that era that influenced you have influenced the series?

JC: We talked about The Princess Bride, Back to the Future, Monty Python's Life of Brian... 

TW: Also the British TV comedies I grew up with and still love today, like Fawlty Towers, which is my favorite, and everything Monty Python did. 

'The Time Bandits'

In the thieves' group there are people of different ethnicities and also a woman, but not with achondroplasia like in the movie, what was the casting approach?

TW: In the casting, we chose the people we liked the most, those who seemed funniest to us, we weren't looking for specific ethnicities for each character. The role of the group's leader was written for a man, but I always wanted to work with Lisa Kudrow and thought it would be great.

Regarding why there are no people of short stature in the group, it wasn't planned. 

JC: We wanted to have a mix and include only a few because some people think these roles are a negative stereotype, as they are often chosen to play magical beings. We tried to include some in the main cast but it didn't work out.

What do you think the series adds to the TV landscape?

TW: It's increasingly rare to find a series or movie that the whole family can enjoy together. Also, I believe that true comedy is no longer made without it being a hybrid. Lately, there isn't a great sense of adventure in series, and comedies are no longer funny.

I think The Time Bandits can be an alternative, a series with a budget and high production value that the whole family can watch together and travel to a new place and time each week.

*This article has been automatically translated using artificial intelligence