Syfy order a pilot for a 12 Monkeys TV series

A TV pilot of 12 Monkeys , which will be based on Terry Gilliam's same-named 1995 sci-fi flick, has been ordered by the Syfy channel.

It's early days yet, but the 60-minute pilot episode is being produced by Universal Cable Productions and Atlas Entertainment, and will reportedly draw heavily on Gilliam's film - though the director 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.

If that sounds familiar, it's because it's basically the same as the plot of Gilliam's film. But then, if it ain't broke…

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.

With Nikita writers Terry Matalas and Travis Ficket on script-writing and producing duties, though, we feel pretty confident this could be a gritty adaptation that will mess with our tiny little brains.

Josh Winning has worn a lot of hats over the years. Contributing Editor at Total Film, writer for SFX, and senior film writer at the Radio Times. Josh has also penned a novel about mysteries and monsters, is the co-host of a movie podcast, and has a library of pretty phenomenal stories from visiting some of the biggest TV and film sets in the world. He would also like you to know that he "lives for cat videos..." Don't we all, Josh. Don't we all.