"Time Bandits" takes audiences on an thrilling adventure to remember.
Experience mischief and wonder in every episode on Apple TV+
Time Bandits is an unpredictable journey through time and space with a ragtag group of thieves and their newest recruit: an 11-year-old history buff named Kevin. Together they set out on a thrilling quest to save the boy’s parents — and the world. The 10-episode series will premiered globally with the first two episodes on Wednesday, July 24, followed by two new episodes every Wednesday through August 21, 2024.
Main character Kevin Haddock (played by Kal-El Tuck) is a sort of an outcast 11 year old boy. He is pretty settled into his life and role as being different and nerdier than other kids his age. He has a passion for history and affinity to gain knowledge about time periods and classics. Kevin is even somewhat sidelined by his parents and immediate family because he is considered “odd”.
After Penelope played by Lisa Kudrow and her companions Bittelig (Rune Temte); Alto (Tadhg Murphy); Widgit (Roger Jean Nsengiyumva), and Judy (Charlyne Yi) crash through Kevin’s bedroom by way of a time egress in his closet, he tags along as they hopscotch through time, space and continents. They plop down in most of their destinations accidentally, since Widgit, the map’s keeper, is an inept navigator. The bandits aren’t limited to brief touchdowns in ancient Greece, the Napoleonic era and the Titanic.
This series is fun, magical, compelling, thrilling, and filled with sci fi adventure and mystery. Each character provides something special for the story and amongst their group of misfit journeymen on the hunt for treasure. Along with Bittelig, the group’s strong man, Alto the thespian, and Judy the empath, Kevin isn’t quite sure of his role within the group. As they adventure and leap between portals in space and time with a stolen map, Kevin’s knowledge becomes his superpower and a vital asset for the group.
The 1981 Time Bandits is a classic British fantasy movie from director Terry Gilliam, with the movie following a boy who joins a group of time-traveling misfit thieves as they journey throughout the various eras of history in an attempt to collect treasure. The film was a big hit upon its release, with it making $42.4 million on a budget of $5 million and receiving critical acclaim.
The 2024 version of Time Bandits removed some of the chilling or more frightening elements from the original film. Its also more overall comedic in tone which allows the plot to remain lighthearted and even more family friendly throughout the season. Lastly, while the original is a movie spanning about an hour and 50 minutes, this current remake is a 10 episodes series, so it does delve more into historical locations/stops as well as allow the plot to develop at a different pace over the course of a full tv season.
The series was created for television by Jemaine Clement, Iain Morris, and Taika Waititi. It’s produced for Apple TV+ by Paramount Television Studios, Anonymous Content’s AC Studios and MRC.
Waititi also appears in Time Bandits as the Supreme Being, and it seems the quirky filmmaker kept Kal-El Tuck on his toes while filming:
“And Taika Waititi, I had a one-on-one scene with him, and it was so fun because halfway through the scene, he’d improvise and change it altogether — get a new costume, put new stuff on the set — and it’s just a fun challenge to go for.”
Join the gang as they stumble upon fascinating worlds of the distant past while seeking out treasure, depending on Kevin to shed light on each situation. The Time Bandits witness the creation of Stonehenge, see the Trojan Horse in action, escape dinosaurs in the prehistoric ages, wreak havoc during medieval times, experience the ice age, ancient civilizations, the Harlem Renaissance, and much more along the way.
Time Bandits is streaming now on Apple TV+!