TV Guide recently reported that actress Jennifer Connelly has been cast in the pilot episode of TNT’s adaptation of the 2013 film Snowpiercer. Connelly, who won the Oscar for Best Supporting Actress back in 2002 for A Beautiful Mind, has done the brunt of her work in film and has only been in a handful of television roles throughout her career. Connelly’s most recent works have been smaller, more intimate independent films, such as Paul Bettany’s Shelter and Ewan McGregor’s American Pastoral. The fact that the Oscar-winning Connelly was attracted to the role in TNT’s Snowpiercer and agreed to take it on might prove a promising sign to those who had their doubts that the unique sci-fi film might not transition well to television.
The original film, written and directed by South Korean filmmaker Bong Joon-ho, who is known for films such as Mother and The Host and has the premiere of his feature film Okja on Netflix later this month, is based on the French graphic novel Le Transperceneige. The film centers on the concept that Earth has frozen over and the entire remaining human population lives on one enormous train, which travels on a track that circles the globe. The train is segregated by class, with the citizens considered to be lower class residing in the tail of the train and those considered higher class living towards the front. The original film starred Chris Evans as protagonist Curtis, who leads a revolution with other lower-class citizens to push towards the front and establish equality on the train.
While Bong Joon-ho’s film takes place more than 10 years after the Earth freezes over, the TNT adaptation will take place only 7 years after. Connelly will play Melanie Cavill, a passenger in first class who is responsible for making PA announcements to the entire train and who has a fascination with the lifestyle of the lower class passengers. It was also announced last month that Hamilton star Daveed Diggs will star in the adaptation as Layton Well, a passenger in the back of the train who becomes involved with the class struggle.
The Snowpiercer adaptation’s pilot episode will be an hour long and directed by Scott Derrickson (Doctor Strange, Sinister). Josh Friedman, known for having written the screenplays for the 2005 film War of the Worlds and The Black Dahlia as well as creating the television series Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles will serve as showrunner and also wrote the pilot.
A proposed release date for the Snowpiercer adaptation has not yet been determined.
