To say that the Snowpiercer TV series has had a rough journey to the screen would be a massive understatement. The TV adaptation of the popular graphic novel has been in production for a couple of years now, changing showrunners, directors, and networks before ever even airing an episode. Fortunately it looks as though the issues have been fixed and Snowpiercer is moving in the right direction. The series won’t debut until 2020 but TBS is preparing to bring the show to fans at San Diego Comic-Con this weekend.
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Ahead of the highly-anticipated panel, EW unveiled the first photos from the Snowpiercer series, giving fans the first glimpse at what they can expect from this adaptation.
The three photos share glimpses of multiple characters from the series, including the two leads, Jennifer Connelly and Daveed Diggs. Connelly plays the train’s hospitality director Melani Cavill, a character similar to the one played by Tilda Swinton in the Snowpiercer movie. Diggs will be taking on the role of Andre Layton, an ex-detective who is recruited by the train’s authorities to hunt down a killer.
Connelly describes Melani Cavill as “the voice of the train,” adding, “she does the announcements to all of the passengers.” As you know if you’ve seen the movie or read the graphic novels, the train circling the globe divides its residents up by classes. Wealthier citizens, like Cavill, are at the front of the train, ruling over those in the back.
“Layton is a resident of the tail, which is the lowest class all the way at the back of the train,” Diggs said of his character. “But he becomes more useful for people uptrain.”
Diggs went on to explain that it took him a while to get used to the expansive train set while shooting the show, and that he often got lost and went through the wrong doors.
“You choose a door and hope it’s the right one,” he laughed. “I’m starting to figure it out. I made some intentional choices today and ended up where I wanted to go, so that’s a good sign.”
The first season of Snowpiercer will arrive in 2020. TBS has already renewed the series for a second season.