Genre-Friendly Guest Stars Enhance “12 Monkeys” Season Three

Season 3 of Syfy’s 12 Monkeys may still be months away, but the network seems to have wasted no time announcing the slate of actors scheduled for guest appearances when the series returns. These latest additions to the cast include: Christopher Lloyd, James Callis, Hannah Waddingham and Faran Tahir.

Veteran actor Christopher Lloyd, perhaps best known for his Doc Brown in the Back to the Future movies, seems to be the latest shout out from the 12 Monkeys writers room (all reputed to be fans) to that 80’s era time-travel series. But Lloyd has been associated with many iconic roles during his long career in television and movies, from Klingon warriors to taxi drivers. In 12 Monkeys, Lloyd plays Zalmon Shaw, a sinister yet charismatic cult leader who recruits new members for the Army of the 12 Monkeys. Shaw is likewise supposed to be the father of the mysterious Pallid Man, who has served as the storyline’s main heavy since the beginning of the series.

  James Callis became memorable to sci-fi fans as Gaius Baltar, the not-quite villain of Syfy’s landmark series Battlestar Galactica. He will reportedly play a recurring but as yet unnamed “rebellious and enigmatic time-traveler raised throughout history by the Army of the 12 Monkeys”. The lack of descriptive detail for his role has led to fan speculation that Callis may be playing the mysterious masked adversary known as The Witness. In joining the series, Callis follows in the footsteps of fellow Battlestar alum Michael Hogan, who guest starred in several episodes during Season 2.

Hannah Waddingham, last seen as Septa Unella on HBO’s Game of Thrones, has been cast as Magdalena, a member of the apocalyptic Army of the 12 Monkeys whose job it is to protect The Witness. It will be interesting to see what yet another enigmatic female character will add to the mix in a cast already known for its many strong, fully realized female characters..

Faran Tahir, who most recently appeared as Captain Nemo in Once Upon a Time, plays Malike, a resident of the time travelling city of Titan and a “devout enforcer” working for the Army of the 12 Monkeys

The premiere episode of the third season will also mark the directorial debut of co-creator and show runner Terry Matalas.

Season 3 of 12 Monkeys will consist of 10 episodes, a slightly shorter run than the 13 of Seasons 1 and 2.  The series is expected to return sometime in the late spring or early summer of 2017.