Apple TV+'s Time Bandits had to 'let go' of original's legacy

The Apple TV+ show co-creators and stars Lisa Kudrow and Kal-El Tuck speak to Yahoo UK about the new series, which is a sequel to Terry Gilliam's 1981 film.

Video transcript

What was it about, uh, time bandits that made you want to revisit it.

III I It wasn't really a thing I ever really had thought about until it was presented.

Um, they, you know, Apple and Paramount.

They said, we've got this thing you interested?

And I said, Sure, I am foolishly because we both love the movie.

We thought, Oh, it's gonna be like we're making the movie.

But of course, it was our own thing, and it was 10 episodes.

It was almost like making that four times five times.

Um, they, I mean, yeah, the source material is so great and so iconic.

And it's something that we both grew up on and loved, and it was not, not necessarily an opportunity to just completely copy it or recreate it exactly the same.

But just to take that inspiration and that seed and that idea and make our own version of it.

And, um, I think that's what adaptation should be.

You shouldn't really.

I think you gotta you gotta be able to let go of the original thing and let yourself flourish and fly.

I had seen it long ago when it first came out and, um And then so, uh, I watched it again and thought, Oh, how fantastic.

That tyke and Jermaine are doing this as a series and it can be more fleshed out.

And, uh, because I had questions in the first one, you know, and and just see and then where would it go?

I just thought that was thrilling.

And then I read their scripts and yeah, that's what that's what I thought it would be.

OK, yeah, but there was no way I wasn't going to be part of this, so I didn't watch it, but my dad did when he was really young, and it was really weird to be in a thing that basically my dad used to watch.

And I didn't watch it because I want my Kevin to be his own Kevin.

Not just an adaptation of the old one.