To commemorate the twenty-year anniversary of Terry Gilliam’s mind-bending, time-travelling sci-fi extravaganza, 12 Monkeys, there won’t simply be a limited collector’s edition Blu-ray set housed in a tin made from an actual monkey. Nope. This year will witness the birth of the film’s TV spinoff series, which is scheduled to debut on Syfy later this month. Now, thanks to Yahoo!, the show’s opening segment has now landed online.
For this small-screen jaunt, Syfy has chosen to re-vamp the storyline from Gilliam’s 1995 caper with a few select twists. X-Men‘s Aaron Stanford will step into Bruce Willis’ vacated shoes as Cole, the time traveler extraordinaire, tasked with taking a quantum leap into the past to prevent a deadly plague that wipes out most of humanity. On his journey he enlists the help of Dr. Cassandra Railly (Amanda Schull playing the part previously nabbed by Madeleine Stowe) and mental patient, Jennifer Goines (Emily Hampshire in a gender-reversal of the Brad Pitt role.)
With regards to its plot, that initial premise doesn’t stray too far from the story expanded upon by Gilliam’s full-length feature. However, due to the execution of its gothic dystopian style along with the invigoration of characters thanks to a fresh cast, this episodic serial has plans to wander down a path entirely of its own making. Previous trailers have hinted at the deviations that await audiences, and the nine minute clip further distances itself from its source material.
You can check out the full clip above, and let us know if you’ll be tuning in when 12 Monkeys unleashes its full-length premiere at 9pm on Friday January 16th.
Inspired by the classic blockbuster film, which commemorates its 20th anniversary next year, “12 Monkeys” explores the provocative story of a time traveler from a decimated future in a high-stakes race against the clock. Utilizing a dangerous and untested method of time travel, he journeys from 2043 to the present day on a mission to locate and eradicate the source of a deadly plague that will all but annihilate the human race.
