New “Time Bandits” Remake Excludes Dwarfs This Time

A remake is in the works of Terry Gilliam’s 1981 fantasy movie “Time Bandits,” but this time around, no dwarfs will reportedly join the lead character on his adventure through time.

Taika Waititi and Jemaine Clement’s upcoming 10-episode remake of the popular movie for Apple TV+ will reportedly include several changes, one being that the lead star Kevin will be aided in his adventure to get back home by regular-sized individuals and not dwarfs, Bounding Into Comics reported.

In an official photo released to the press, confirmation to change things this time around was revealed by Entertainment Weekly. In the picture, we see 11-year-old Kevin, played by British actor Kal-El Tuck, as the shortest star flanked by regular-sized individuals on either side. They will be taking on the role of the group of thieves, who join the history geek on his trip through the various centuries.

As of this publication, there has been no comment from Waititi or Clement about the decision to eliminate the dwarfs’ roles. In the original film, the child and dwarfs being the same size added to a lot of the humor and charm. A new character Penelope, played by “Friends” star Lisa Kudrow, has also been created for the show, who’s in charge of the rag tag group of thieves.

In 2022, the creator of the original movie reportedly voiced his concern about the upcoming take on his movie.

Here’s you woman lead Timebandits, bro. Just like you asked. https://t.co/18llGfnaq6 pic.twitter.com/66DIcvhBSn

— Locutie of Borg (@locutie0fborg) May 24, 2024

An alleged crew member — who spoke to World of Reel’s Jordan Rulmy during a visit to the series’ New Zealand set — claimed Gilliam allegedly walked off after finding himself massively disappointed with the entire production.

“He wasn’t happy,” the insider told the outlet. “He kept groaning and making remarks. Terry was supposed to be there for two weeks but he left after three days.”

“His disdain for the entire project was quite obvious,” the person added. “You probably won’t be hearing any praise for this series from him anytime soon.”

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The change follows a move by Disney with its upcoming “Snow White” remake to remove the possibility of offending people after actor Peter Dinklage slammed Disney for attempting to remake the “f***ing backward” story about seven cave-dwelling dwarfs.

In response, Disney announced first that in order to “avoid reinforcing stereotypes,” “magical creatures” would replace the seven dwarves that included women and men of different ethnicities. Images later surfaced showing the people had been replaced by CGI-created characters. The film also faced a backlash from those upset about Disney casting Latina actress Rachel Zegler as the maiden with “skin as white as snow.” The movie was supposed to come out in March 2024, but has been pushed back to 2025.

“Time Bandits” debuts July 24 on Apple TV+.

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