Apple TV’s Failed Sci-Fi Experiment Makes a Shock Return to Streaming Charts

From its inception, Apple TV+ confirmed a transparent fondness for science fiction, with its first originals, For All Mankind, starring Joel Kinnaman, and See, led by Jason Momoa, setting the tone early. Within the years since, Apple has doubled down with fan-favorite hits like Severance, Silo, and Basis, and has change into the go-to platform for an eclectic assortment of sci-fi titles. Nevertheless, not each gamble has paid off, with one main miss being Taika Waititi’s Time Bandits, a reimagining of Terry Gilliam’s 1981 cult basic. The remake had all the best substances on paper, however didn’t fairly land with audiences, resulting in its cancellation after one season. However in a twist straight out of a time-travel story, Time Bandits has now looped its method again to Apple TV+’s Prime 10 chart.

Followers had been calling for a Time Bandits remake for years earlier than Waititi lastly answered in 2019. By 2022, issues actually kicked into gear with casting, together with Pals star Lisa Kudrow becoming a member of the combo. Waititi put his trademark witty spin on the remake, aiming for one thing extra playful and family-friendly than the unique, which leaned a bit extra on the darker facet. Nevertheless, the center of the journey stayed the identical because the premise follows an eleven-year-old Kelvin, a historical past buff who all of the sudden finds himself tagging together with a bunch of chaotic, time-traveling thieves on a wild, high-stakes quest by historical past.

Waititi’s Time Bandits resonated properly with the critics, scoring a good 76% on Rotten Tomatoes. However with the unique being such a beloved cult basic, expectations had been understandably greater than typical, and a few believed it did not fairly ship on its guarantees. As Collider’s Tania Hussain famous in her assessment, the collection missed the mark when it got here to executing these laugh-out-loud moments that normally outline Waititi’s type. She additionally identified some pacing points that threw off the present’s rhythm, although she praised its eye-catching visuals and the forged’s sturdy performances. With a 50% popcornmeter rating, viewers critiques had been combined, and that tepid reception inevitably led to its cancellation after one season.

Do You Need ‘Time Bandits’ Season 2?

Time Bandits Season 1 ended on an open observe, clearly leaving room for extra time-traveling adventures. Waititi and co-creator Jemaine Clement advised Collider in the lead-up to the finale that that they had already begun mapping out their plan for a possible second season. “We’re mapping out a Season 2,” he mentioned, although he admitted the present’s future relied on viewership and whether or not it was “financially price it for Apple to make one other one.” Sadly, because the cancellation would quickly reveal, the numbers didn’t add up. He, nonetheless, did tease an growth of the world with “extra locations and extra characters and extra visitor stars and extra costumes and all these issues.”

Time Bandit‘s latest streaming resurgence is proof that, certainly, there are a selection who loved Waititi’s spin on the beloved basic, however sadly, it won’t be sufficient to show the tide in its favor.

You’ll be able to watch all 10 episodes of Time Bandits Season 1 on AppleTV+.