A filmmaker who is a veteran of comedic satire, Terry Gilliam of “Monty Python and the Holy Grail,” “Jabberwocky,” “Time Bandits” and “12 Monkeys” fame, says his newest project featuring satire about wokeness may face heavy headwinds because President Donald Trump killed the movement.
“The script, in some ways, is out of date because it was a satire of the world two years ago, and Donald Trump has come along, and he is the carnival. He’s turned the world upside down – everything. We may have to rework some of the story because parts of it was very specific about the wonderful world of woke before The Donald took over again. That very narrow way of thinking of life. We’ll see where it goes. At the moment, I may be out of a job for another 10 years,” explained Terry Gilliam in an interview documented by HollywoodInToto.com.
The report explained he saw the “woke revolution” that stifled comedy and culture under Joe Biden “and wanted to make a movie about it. After all, no one in the greater Hollywood community would even attempt such a satire.”
He planned “Carnival at the End of Days.”
Terry Gilliam’s “The Carnival at the End of Days” is set to star JOHNNY DEPP, ADAM DRIVER, JEFF BRIDGES and JASON MOMOAhttps://t.co/czJjmpfd2w pic.twitter.com/rUENHBWkUy
— Reel Updates (@worldofreel) May 31, 2024
‘Monty Python’ comedian Terry Gilliam says Trump emboldened people to laugh again after woke activists ruined comedy https://t.co/Mi2kJRZU53 pic.twitter.com/fe1Ui2HC3F
— New York Post (@nypost) July 9, 2025
Then, the report said, things changed: “A certain real estate mogul defied an assassin’s plot and returned to the White House last fall. How could Gilliam mock the ‘woke mind virus’ when President Donald Trump’s comeback snuffed its fading embers?”
He explained, “I think Trump has changed things considerably. He’s turned the world upside down. I don’t know if people are going to be laughing more, but they’re probably less frightened to laugh. There have been woke activists with a very narrow, self-righteous point of view. That’s frightened so many people, and so many people have been very timid about telling jokes, making fun of things, because if you tell a joke, these people say you’re punching down at somebody. No, you’re finding humor in humanity!”
The report said, “Gilliam is far from MAGA. He’s suspicious of the world leader, particularly on immigration. He prefers an open-border approach as in England, saying undocumented citizens provide a critical workforce.”