Move over “Sharknado 2,” Syfy has something even more compelling on the horizon that isn’t just a dumb social media sensation taken too far. The network is ready to make cult fans of Terry Gilliam‘s “12 Monkeys” either excited or angry or both, as they are now preparing to re-launch the movie as a brand new TV series.
THR reports that the project has original producers Chuck Roven and Richard Suckle on board, and that they pitched it themselves to the network, who are now getting ready to run with it. As you might remember, the original (influenced by Chris Marker‘s “La Jetée“) starred Bruce Willis and Brad Pitt and concerned a man sent back in time to find out the cause of a killer virus that wipes out 99% of mankind in the future. But he’s sent too far back and winds up in a mental ward. This new adaptation will come from Terry Matalas and Travis Fickett, who previously paired on “Nikita,” and basically cover the same plot.
The idea is to essentially follow the “Battlestar Galactica” model, create a 90-minute “backdoor pilot,” which will then be used to launch into a series. “We have a great pilot, we’re now flushing out what the rest of the series might be,” Mark Stern president of original programming at Syfy, told the trade.
Apparently, the plan is to get this up-and-running to join their new script shows for 2014, but nothing is confirmed just yet. Of course, the original “12 Monkeys” was a pretty decent-sized hit and earned Pitt an Oscar nomination for his effort, but mostly, we really can’t wait to hear what Gilliam will say about this once he’s inevitably asked. We’re sure his thoughts on his movie getting remade will be pretty memorable.