38 years after the Terry Gilliam-directed Time Bandits was first released into theaters, the property is being adapted into a television series.
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According to a new report from Deadline, Apple is closing a deal to acquire the rights to the popular fantasy film. The TV show will be developed as a co-production between Anonymous Content, Paramount Television, and Media Rights Capital.
While Gilliam isn’t set to be the director of the series, he will serve as a non-writing executive producer, alongside Anonymous and MRC.
The original Time Bandits movie was made by a small production company called Handmade Films, that was created by Denis O’Brien and former Beatles guitarist George Harrison. The studio kicked things off in 1979 with The Life of Brian, a comedy that was made by Gilliam and the other members of the Monty Python crew. Over the years, Handmade Films also made movies like Mona Lisa and Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels.
Unfortunately, the company began losing money and was eventually shut down. Harrison ultimately sued O’Brien for the company’s failures. Despite the difficult ending for the studio, it did produce Time Bandits, which has become somewhat of a cult favorite in the years since its release. The movie tells the story of a young boy named Kevin who loves history, and accidentally stumbles into a group of six dwarves when they fall out of his closet. The group takes off on an adventure throughout time and space, on the run from the Supreme Being.
Time Bandits is just the latest venture for Apple’s growing studio, as the company attempts to make a major push into the world of original film and television. As of now, there has been no indication as to when the Time Bandits series could actually go into production.
Are you excited about a Time Bandits TV show? What do you think Apple will do with the series? Let us know by sounding off in the comments below!
