Aman Goyal
Apple TV+’s ‘Time Bandits’ follows a mischievous group of thieves on their comedic adventures that descend through time and space. The plot kicks off when 11-year-old history buff Kevin (Kal-El Tuck) gets a chance to live his dream as an otherworldly phenomenon turns his room into a portal. There, he joins the titular gang, led by Penelope (Lisa Kudrow), and embarks on a journey to find his lost parents. Together, they experience thrilling events in world history, from the Jurassic period and the Trojan War to the Age of Discovery and a ruthless Napoleon amidst the French Revolution.
Created by Jemaine Clement, Iain Morris, and Taika Waititi, it adapts writers Terry Gilliam and Michael Palin’s eponymous 1981 film. The adaptation brings a fresh perspective to the original story, utilizing diverse exotic locations and advanced technology for an immersive world. While the themes of comedy, time travel, and quantum leaps generate an exhilarating viewing experience, ‘Time Bandits’ also thrives on the element of surprise with its compelling visuals and eye-popping scenery.
Time Bandits Filming Locations
‘Time Bandits’ is filmed in various locations across the Pacific, including exotic destinations in New Zealand and Toronto, Ontario. The makers use a balanced blend of broad exterior landscapes and studio filmmaking to achieve the show’s signature ambiance. Production on the inaugural season began in early October 2022 and wrapped in January 2023. Interestingly, the New Zealand schedule coincided with the sophomore season of ‘Our Flag Means Death,’ also starring Taika Waititi.
Wellington, New Zealand
‘Time Bandits’ is primarily shot in writer and actor Taika Waititi’s home country, New Zealand. The capital city of Wellington hosts most of the shooting process due to its urban surroundings. Ahead of filming, a number of sites at Wellington Central and Lambton Harbour were confirmed by a city council document, allowing for road closures. The CBD locations, based around the Maginnity Street area, were transformed into 1920s New York City, as seen in the show’s arc set during the Harlem Renaissance. Built around this same era, The Wellesley Boutique Hotel at 2-8 Maginnity Street appears as a key location, permitting interior and exterior filming access for the makers.
Additional footage was taped around Stout Street and Ballance Street, where day-long closures to vehicle and cycling traffic were scheduled. With the exterior Wellington Central schedule lasting during the first week of October, an estimated 500 people participated to speed up the production. Outside Wellington, the neighboring region of Wairarapa is also utilized for some rural scenes. South Wairarapa Mayor Alex Beijen expressed his enthusiasm for the countryside attracting such a large-budget project in a statement.
Wellington-based Stone Street Studios at 1 Stone Street, Miramar, host a major portion of sequences, especially those requiring heavy use of green screens. The massive scale and scope of ‘Time Bandits’ are achieved through well-detailed set pieces. With production designers Ra Vincent and Brendan Heffernan and art director Alister Baxter, the construction of sets adapts to new places and timelines every time the bandits comically end up at a new place. Renowned costume designer Bob Buck, who has handled wardrobe for some of the biggest productions in New Zealand — including ‘Avatar: The Way of Water’ and ‘The Hobbit’ trilogy — ensures accuracy and a historical touch through the group’s costumes.”
In an interview, lead actor Kal-El Tuck recalled the surreal shooting experience inside studios. He said, “Let’s say we need to go into a desert, maybe then you put a bunch of sand in a random warehouse, and we’d have to act. And then there was another one where there was a big TV screen that circled around us, so when we looked around, we could see like we’re in an ice age because all around us, there’d be mountains and it was amazing.” Lisa Kudrow backed these remarks and praised the attention to detail. “I felt like I was actually there,” she said in the interview.
Toronto, Ontario
Toronto, in the province of Ontario, is another major filming site for ‘Time Bandits.’ The production on the first season moved here in January 2023 to shoot the remaining footage. The show features several establishing shots of beaches at the Lake Ontario shoreline to recreate the Viking-era subplot. The winter season helped substitute these surroundings for the cold climate of the Scandinavian region.
Toronto’s roster of television projects includes numerous renowned productions. Like ‘Time Bandits,’ the city has also hosted Taika Waititi’s ‘What We Do in the Shadows,’ as well as other popular shows involving mischievous groups, such as ‘The Boys’ and ‘The Umbrella Academy.’ Additionally, another time travel movie-to-TV adaptation, ‘12 Monkeys,’ was also filmed in Toronto, solidifying its reputation as one of the leading cities in the entertainment industry.
Read More: Is Time Bandits Show a Sequel to Time Bandits (1981)? How are They Connected?
