Fans of dystopian thrillers should look no further than Snowpiercer, the 2020 series that takes place some seven years after the planet has succumbed to uninhabitable cold weather conditions. The series follows the last humans who live aboard the Snowpiercer, a luxury train 1,001 cars long, meticulously designed by the enigmatic Mr. Wilford to mimic the earth's economies and ecosystems as it circumnavigated the globe.
Much like Bong-Joon Ho's 2013 movie, Snowpiercer and its conflicts are centered around class divisions, which has been deliberately incorporated into nearly every aspect of the series. Fans of the show can nerd out with these behind-the-scenes stories while they wait for season 2, which is set to premiere on January 25, 2021.
Several Train Cars Were Built In Real Life
While the Snowpiercer crew undoubtedly used some computerized effects, many of the cars in the show were physically constructed as sets, such as the first-class cars, the tail car, and the night car. Production Designer Barry Robinson wanted everything to be as analog as possible and custom-ordered nearly every detail, including the drapes and furniture.
After sitting down to conceptualize the Snowpiercer, they constructed 20 different cars in various sizes. Some of the cars were fixed sets, while others changed, as needed. Due to Robinson's experience in the rapid-paced world of daytime soap operas, he and his team were able to build the cars in just under six weeks.
Jennifer Connelly Helped Develop Melanie's Story
As the head of hospitality, Melanie Cavill is both discrete and swift in her dealings with inconveniences aboard the train. However, fans quickly learn that she vacillates between head steward and, unbeknownst to the passengers, an MIT educated engineer who controls the train itself. In accepting the role, Jennifer Connelly said she was intrigued by Melanie's character and she wanted to learn more about her motivations. She worked with showrunner Graeme Manson to develop the character, even giving Melanie some of her own backstory.
"I think she’s a surprising character," Connelly said in an interview. "I thought she was quite a challenging character at times and she has an interesting journey ... I think she certainly is fighting for something that she really believes in and I think that she believes that it’s the right thing, that the ultimate goal that she’s fighting for is a really important and worthy goal."
Color Was An Important Visual Detail
The designers worked hard to establish completely separate worlds between the class sections. According to showrunner Graeme Manson, “The tail is a jail. Third class is a working class. Second class is a professional class. First class has it all. As you move up train everything changes, like the design and sound, as well as the condition of the people and the amount of plenty."
Color became a very important aspect of each set, making the tail car dark and monochrome to convey oppression, while the first-class car is glossy and bright to signify opulence. Even the number and size of the windows in each car correlates to the experience of the class and points towards the vastly different experiences aboard the Snowpiercer.
The Story Was A Graphic Novel Before It Was A Movie
Many people know that 2020's Snowpiercer was based on a 2013 movie of the same title. Before giving us Parasite in 2019, Korean director Bong Joon-Ho made his English-language film debut and garnered so much acclaim for Snowpiercer that it was quickly optioned for a television series. But fans of Snowpiercer may not realize that the concept began with a graphic novel series called Le Transperceneige.
The graphic novel was published in 1982, with several additional books following the first. The show is an homage to both the novel and the movie, while also establishing an identity of its own. It is said to take place 10 years prior to the large-scale revolt depicted in the movie.
Portraying Andre Layton Was A Fun Challenge for Daveed Diggs
Daveed Diggs, who is also known for his work in Disney's Hamilton, proclaimed his love for detective fiction in an interview with Collider. While filming Snowpiercer, Diggs admitted that he had the Columbo box set with him and that he would watch it between shoots.
Although Diggs is a big fan of detective stories, he noted that conveying emotion, one of his natural strong suits, was not necessarily an advantage while playing a hard-nosed homicide investigator like Andre Layton. "He has a lot of guards up, and that’s a function of his profession, both pre and now, all of a sudden, post freeze, as a detective," Diggs said. "I had to make sure that I’m not giving away too much ‘cause I don’t think Layton would give away too much. So, that’s been an interesting and fun challenge."
Each Train Set Included Practical Vibrations
To make the analog sets even more realistic, gimbals and airbags were used to mimic the movement of the train. Actors could react to the level of turbulence needed for each scene and the director could turn up control the level of shake if they needed a bigger or smaller effect.
Viewers should pay special attention to the vibrations throughout the train since even this small effect was used to create the stark sense of class divide. According to Special Effects Supervisor Chuck Desrosiers, the ride is smoother as the characters go up the train. "The idea is that they have dampening systems in place that can control how much vibration is brought across which leads to a calmer ride. It's like the difference between a jalopy and a BMW."
Some Of The Train's Cars Are Referred To As "Wow Sets"
While the set designers wanted to use physical sets as much as possible, computerized effects were used to create some of the more visually stunning aspects of the train. The need for visual effects evolved as the scripts were developed, determining where to add computer-generated (CG) effects as the characters' actions were established.
For cars such as the aquarium and the cattle car, showrunner Graeme Manson referred to them as "Wow Sets" because they were meant to "wow" the audience with their fantastical design. In reality, the actors worked in front of a blue screen before the visual effects were added.
Sean Bean Was Handpicked To Play Mr. Wilford
In a shocking twist, fans of Snowpiercer got their first glimpse of a very alive Mr. Wilford during the season 1 finale. Sean Bean, who is more recently known for his role as Ned Stark in Game of Thrones, emerged from a second train to begin a presumably unfriendly takeover of the Snowpiercer.
Bean was handpicked by showrunner Graeme Manson to play Mr. Wilford, who said the actor is a magnetic performer with "tremendous menace and tremendous taste in clothing." Since Bean has recently claimed that he will turn down roles where his character will be killed, there's a good chance Mr. Wilford will be a formidable opponent.
Fans Can Contribute To The Train Design
At 1,001 cars long, the Snowpiercer crew would be hard-pressed to design each and every segment of the train themselves. Instead, they've invited the fans to contribute and immerse themselves further into the world of the train. Once accepted, the designs are incorporated into either first, second, or third class on the Wilford Industries website.
Winning designs include modular second class living quarters, an art nouveau dining car, and a glass camping car, to name a few. Fans who want to put their skills to the test can download a template and submit their design to Wilford Industries.
The Original Pilot Never Aired On TV
Due to network drama and major personnel changes, 2020's Snowpiercer faced an uphill battle before finally making its way onto the small screen. The original showrunner, Josh Friedman, wrote a pilot that was well-liked but was supposedly more action-packed like the movie. Due to creative differences with the network, the original pilot and the showrunner himself were scraped from the project.
Once Friedman and his original pilot were removed, director Scott Derrickson declined to reshoot the pilot, stating that Friedman's script for the pilot was "the best I've ever read. The feature-length pilot I made from that script may be my best work." According to Graeme Manson, nearly nothing is left from the original pilot, outside of one scene. Rewriting and reshooting resulted in a year-long delay in the show's release, which was ultimately in production for over three years.