15 Films You Didn't Realise Were Remakes

2. 12 Monkeys

True Lies
Universal

In the sci-fi thriller, 12 Monkeys, a time-traveller from the future called Cole travels to the late 20th century to stop a virus from wiping out most of humanity. The story was inspired by a 28-minute French short called La Jetee. (It's worth mentioning that director, Terry Gilliam, didn't see the short before making this movie.

What stands out most about La Jetee is how the story is told through still images. This was done to make scenes more intense and eerie. Similar to X-Men: Days of Future Past, the protagonist of La Jetee has his consciousness sent through time, not his body.

Another key difference with La Jetee is how the lead character encounters time-travellers from an alternative future where the world has become a utopia. These travellers communicate with the protagonist telepathically to guide him in his quest to preserve their timeline.

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James Egan has been with Whatculture for five years and prominently works on Horror, Film, and Video Games. He's written over 80 books including 1000 Facts about Horror Movies Vol. 1-3 1000 Facts about The Greatest Films Ever Made Vol. 1-3 1000 Facts about Video Games Vol. 1-3 1000 Facts About James Bond 1000 Facts About TV Shows