SyFy moves ahead with a ’12 Monkeys’ pilot for a possible new TV series
A TV pilot of 12 Monkeys, which will be based on Terry Gilliam’s 1995 sci-fi flick, has been ordered by the Syfy channel.
Reportedly the 60-minute pilot episode is being produced by Universal Cable Productions and Atlas Entertainment, and will draw heavily on Gilliam’s film. Gilliam however, won’t have any involvement in the project.
The pilot’s plot will follow a time traveller from a post-apocalyptic future, who journeys to the present day in order to stop the spread of a deadly plague.
Casting is yet to commence on the pilot, and Syfy won’t commit to an entire series until it’s seen the finished 60-minute first episode.
Nikita writers Terry Matalas and Travis Ficket on script-writing and producing duties, so fans can be pretty confident this could be a gritty adaptation and likely will be picked up for a full season run.
From the press release:
Syfy is greenlighting 12 Monkeys, a drama series based on the 1995 Universal Pictures film directed by Terry Gilliam, to pilot. The 60-minute cast-contingent pilot is being produced by Universal Cable Productions and Atlas Entertainment, producer of the original Bruce Willis-Brad Pitt theatrical.
Based on the classic hit film, 12 Monkeys follows the journey of a time traveler from the post-apocalyptic future who appears in present day on a mission to locate and eradicate the source of a deadly plague that will eventually decimate the human race.
Production is set to begin in November with Terry Matalas & Travis Fickett (Terra Nova, Nikita), who wrote the pilot script, serving as Co-Executive Producers. Atlas Entertainment’s Charles Roven (American Hustle, Man of Steel, The Dark Knight Trilogy) and Richard Suckle (American Hustle, The International), will Executive Produce. Roven produced the original film.
