Every big name movie director has slowly, but surely, made the exodus to television. And next to fall in line is acclaimed filmmakerTerry Gilliam. He’s not going to come quietly when he does, though. And he has some mighty big plans for the small screen. One of those plans is to turn his80scult hitTime Banditsinto a TV show. He also has plans for a series that is likened to The Fisher King.
Time Banditsmay be one of the most interesting and uniquetime travel moviesof all time, and it certainly has no identifiable comparison. For years, diehard fans have wanted a sequel to the 1981 adventure, which follows a young boy who accidentally joins a band of dwarves as they jump from time-period to time-period looking for treasure to steal. For a while, it sounded like a remake might happen, but the original movie is socrazy, there is no way it could ever be reimagined and embraced the way the first movie is. Though, as it turns out, Terry Gilliam may not be done with it just yet.
Terry Gilliamwas chatting withThe Guardianwhen he revealed that aTime Banditsseries is in development. The acclaimed director actually got his start on the small screen with Do Not Adjust Your Set way back in 1967. He then, of course, was part of the iconic skit seriesMonty Python’s Flying Circus, which launched in 1969 and changed comedy TV forever. When asked if he’s ready to return to television, he had this to say about a possibletime travel reboot.
Yes I am! We are involved in two possibilities - one, a TV series based on Time Bandits, another based on a script by Richard LaGravanese and I wrote after Fisher King, called The Defective Detective. We’re currently adapting a two-hour film into a six-hour series. It’s about a middle-aged New York cop who was once a hero who has grown fat and cynical and is in the middle of a breakdown, ending up in a child’s fantasy world where the rules of themean streetsof New York no longer apply. The best way to kill a dragon is no longer a gun, but a tree branch you think is a sword."
It sounds likeThe Defective Detectiveis further along in the development process, and will likely arrive before aTime BanditsTV show. He doesn’t give too many details about what aTime Banditsseries might look like. Will it still revolve around a young boy and a band of merry dwarfs? Or will it be completely reimagined? There’s no indication of how the show may be twisted or changed, but deviating too far off the path may turn longtime fans away.
Time Banditswas a hit with critics and audiences alike when it was released in November, 1981. It arrived between the summer and holiday movie going seasons in the U.S., earning an unexpected $40 million. The film served asTerry Gilliam' first breakout hit in the states. And he considered it the first in his ‘Trilogy of Imagination’, which also includes Brazil and The Adventures of Baron Munchausen. What do you think? Does the world need aTime BanditsTV show?
