It’s been almost twenty years since Terry Gilliam wowed us all with his mind-bending opus, 12 Monkeys. With a time travelling premise and a knockout performance by Brad Pitt, the film became an instant classic and further exposed the world to Gilliam’s astute and, more often than not, satirical visual style.
And now, fans of the 1995 classic will be pleased to find out that Syfy has released a premiere date for their own take on the eclectic source material, with the first episode due to hit the airwaves on Friday, January 16th.
Stepping into the vacant shoes left by Bruce Willis, Aaron Stranford of X-Men fame will play the lead role Cole. Essentially, our protagonist ventures back in time from 2048 Terminator-style in order to eradicate a malicious plague that poses a threat to the entire human race. Joining Cole on the time-hopping adventure is Dr. Cassandra Reilly (played here by Amanda Schull) and, in replacing Pitt’s mentally unstable Jeffrey Goines, Emily Hampshire will play the just-as-crazy Jennifer Goines.
12 Monkeys is due to get a new lease of life on Syfy when the show debuts on Friday, January 16th. In the interlude, you can gleam over the plot summary below and tell us whether you think the show will find its feet in the comments section below.
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.
