In the year 2035, with the world devastated by an artificially engineered plague, convict
James Cole is sent back in time to gather information about the plague’s origin so the
scientists can figure out how to fight it.
— Michael Main
If you can’t change anything because it’s already happened, you may as well smell the
flowers.
DEBUT
12 Monkeys (premiered at an unknown movie theater, New York City, 8 December
1995).
VARIANTS
Debut. 12 Monkeys (premiered at an unknown movie theater, New York City, 8 December 1995).
Single Static Timeline: To me, the film has many conclusive scenes demonstrating that the world consists of a single, static timeline with no chance of actually changing the past (e.g., the phone message that Katheryn records). The scientists realize that this may be the case, but at the very least they want to get a sample of the original, unmutated virus so they can bioengineer a cure for their own time. At the end, the “insurance” that Jones mentions implies that she has come back to obtain a sample of the virus just in case none of the other plans work out.
Time Travel Methods
Time Tethers: Little is shown about the time machine, but Cole appears to be shot to another time and later retrieved.
From underground Philadelphia, 2035 ⋙ to Baltimore, April 1990. Note: This is Cole’s first trip through time, intended to go to 1996, but hitting too early. He returns from within a locked cell, which puzzles his jailors.
From an unknown time ⋙ to Baltimore, November 1996. Note: Cole finds Kathryn quickly, and the race to find the origin of the virus begins.
From an unknown time ⋙ to 2035. Note: Cole is pulled back to the future while wading in a stream.
From underground Philadelphia, 2035 ⋙ to late 1996. Multiple round trips. Note: The movie flips between Cole in 2035 and Cole in 1996, possibly because of multiple round trips.