Terry Gilliam Explains Why He Told Warner Bros. to "F–k Off" When They Asked Him to Make More TIME BANDITS Movies
My favorite movie directed by Terry Gilliam is Time Bandits. I loved it as a kid, and I still love it as an adult. That movie just takes audiences on such a wild adventure, and I’ve never forgotten the way I felt when I first watched it. The movie broke open my imagination and took it to another level.
During a recent Q&A via Variety, Gilliam was asked about his upcoming Apple TV+ adaptation of the 1981 adventure film, but he didn’t offer any details on that. Several times over the years, Gilliam attempted to get a Time Bandits sequel off the ground, but nothing has ever happened with it.
But, it turns out that after the first movie was a hit, Warner Bros. offered him the opportunity to direct a trilogy of Time Bandits films! But, there was one condition they had, and that condition prompted him to tell them to “F–k off.” So, what was the condition? I’ll let Gilliam explain:
“A couple of years after that success, Warner Bros. came to me and said: ‘We would like you to make three Bandit films, and they were offering me millions of dollars. They said, ‘We love the film but there’s only one caveat: No dwarves.’ My response was: ‘F–k off!’”
Yeah, that doesn’t make any sense that they would tell him he couldn’t use dwarves in the movie! Again, some of those studio executives in charge of making movies just don’t get it, and their heads are filled with brain farts. So, over the years Gilliam has struggled to get he vision of a sequel made. It will be interesting to see what this Apple TV+ series ends up being. He’s been working on that for awhile with Taika Waititi.
Time Bandits revolves around a young boy named Kevin who unexpectedly joins a group of mischievous dwarfs who have stolen a map of the universe's time holes from the Supreme Being. This map allows them to travel through different eras in history, from ancient Greece to the Napoleonic Wars, as they loot treasures from various periods.
However, their adventures catch the attention of both the Supreme Being and the malevolent Evil Genius, leading to a grand showdown. Throughout their journey, Kevin encounters historical figures, confronts good and evil, and learns lessons about the nature of time and existence.
We talked about this film in great detail on our Secret Level podcast, and you can listen to that episode here.