'Snowpiercer': Release date, plot, cast, trailer and all you need to know about TNT's dystopian thriller series
After the success of Bong Joon-Ho's 2013 film starring Chris Evans, 'Snowpiercer' is being adapted into a TV series on TNT with an ensemble cast. The show is set seven years after the global catastrophe that plunged the Earth into a new Ice Age, causing the remnants of humanity to seek shelter on a train that constantly circles the planet.
Here’s everything you need to know about the project:
Release Date
'Snowpiercer' will premiere on TNT on May 17.
Plot
The series follows a former homicide detective and the head of hospitality on the Snowpiercer as they interact with people from across the 1001-car train. Picking up more than half a decade after the train departed on its never-ending journey, the series will explore the divisions and injustices that plague what's left of mankind on its final voyage. Here's the official synopsis for the show:
"Set more than seven years after the world has become a frozen wasteland, Snowpiercer centers on the remnants of humanity who inhabit a perpetually moving train, with 1001 cars, that circles the globe. Class warfare, social injustice and the politics of survival play out in this riveting television adaptation based on the graphic novel series and film of the same name."
Cast
Jennifer Connelly
The Oscar-winning actress leads the cast of 'Snowpiercer' as Melanie Cavill, the cold and methodical head of hospitality on the train. She is joined on the cast by Grammy and Tony Award winner Daveed Diggs as Andre Layton, a former homicide detective turned revolutionary, as well as Emmy nominee Alison Wright, Mickey Sumner, Susan Park, Iddo Goldberg, Katie McGuinness, Tony Award winner and Grammy nominee Lena Hall, Annalise Basso, Sam Otto, Roberto Urbina, Sheila Vand, and Jaylin Fletcher.
Showrunner
Graeme Manson
Canadian screenwriter and producer Graeme Manson is best known for his work on 'Orphan Black'. Manson was hired as showrunner after Josh Friedman, who wrote the first script for the series, was removed from the project citing creative differences. The change was the source of quite a bit of controversy as Scott Derrickson, who was hired to direct the show, refused to reshoot the pilot citing more creative differences with Manson claiming that Friedman's script was one of the best he's ever read and that Manson had a radically different vision for the show.
BAFTA-winner James Hawes was hired to replace Derrickson and attached as both a co-executive producer and a director. Oscar-winning filmmaker Bong Joon-Ho, who directed the 2013 movie, is also an executive producer on the show alongside Marty Adelstein, whose Tomorrow Studios is responsible for the production along with the film's production house CJ Entertainment. Scott Derrickson is still credited as an executive producer on the project despite stepping down from the director's chair.
The series is based on the critically acclaimed graphic novel 'Le Transperceneige' by Jacques Lob and Jean-Marc Rochette as well as the movie.
Trailer
The first trailer for the series was released on July 21, 2019. It introduces Connelly's character and teases a lot of violence, bloodshed, and revolution to come along with two conflicting views of what Snowpiercer represents.
A promo for the series titled 'Welcome to the New World' was released on October 5, 2019. The primarily animated clip recounts how the world was frozen after an attempt to reverse global warming backfired, how the rich found refuge on the global train built by a wealthy industrialist, and how the poor fought back. The video introduces the world of the series and sets the tone for everything that is to come.
A teaser trailer for the series was released on April 3, 2020. The clip features some haunting music and scenes of revolution with Jennifer Connelly's character monologuing about power and the responsibility it brings, all while the blood of both rich and poor is spilled across the train.
A second full-length trailer for the series was released on April 23, 2020. The clip is the most explosive yet, revealing a restlessness growing among both the rich and poor passengers aboard the train. We see more scenes of violence and we also see Andre Layton (Daveed Diggs) declaring the victory of the revolution.
There are also hints of a tragedy about to befall the Snowpiercer and the reveal of a character who may be living out in the cold world without the relative safety of the train. Clearly this dystopian thriller is going to be something to watch out for.
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