In a decision ostensibly made in order to be more ‘inclusive’ and less offensive, Taika Waititi’s upcoming television remake of Time Bandits will no longer see dwarfs accompanying protagonist Kevin on his adventures, but rather regularly-sized individuals.
This fact was confirmed by the series’ first official press photo, as released exclusively by Entertainment Weekly on May 20th.
Therein, Kevin (Kal-El Tuck) can be seen standing in a field standing side-by-side with the titular Time Bandits (Tasha Murphy, Roger Jean Nsengiyumva, Kiera Thompson, and Rune Temte) and their leader Penelope (Lisa Kudrow), a new character developed exclusively for the series.
But in a significant deviation from Terry Gilliam’s 1981 original film, rather than being on par with his companion’s heights, Kevin is instead shown to be the shortest of the entire group, the Time Bandits themselves all being of average adult human height.
As of writing, neither Waititi, his series co-creators Jermaine Clement and Iain Morris, nor production studio Apple TV have offered an official statement regarding or reason for this change.
However, given that the topic of dwarf characters has become yet another ‘progressive battleground’ in recent years, it’s likely that this change was made in order to avoid offending anyone of reduced stature – as previously seen with Disney’s Snow White remake, which originally attempted to replace the story’s iconic Seven Dwarfs with seven ‘bandits’ before public backlash (and a desperate need for some good will) prompted them to reverse course.
Notably, should this reveal leave one concerned for the series’ actual content, they would take care to know that they are not alone in holding that sentiment, as Gilliam himself is reportedly not a fan of Waititi’s attempt to revive his creation.
Per an an alleged crew member who spoke to World of Reel‘s Jordan Rulmy, during a December 2022 visit to the series’ New Zealand set, Gilliam allegedly walked off after finding himself massively disappointed with the entire production.
“He wasn’t happy,” said the insider. “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,” they added. “You probably won’t be hearing any praise for this series from him anytime soon.”
Ultimately, the extent of Waititi’s damage to the Time Bandits‘ reputation will come to light when the series premieres exclusively on Apple TV+ on July 24th.