Production has started on the Snowpiercer TV pilot episode, its director Scott Derrickson has revealed. Derrickson’s involvement in the series' development was announced back in May, some months after his previous project Doctor Strange earned rave reviews and box office bucks. With Snowpiercer, Derrickson will tackle a different sort of comic book: Jacques Lob and Jean-Marc Rochette’s 1982 French graphic novel, La Transperceneige.
The comic – which imagines a new ice age where mankind survives aboard a massive train – was previously adapted into the 2013 Snowpiercer movie, which starred Derrickson’s Ancient One actress Tilda Swinton and the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s Captain America actor, Chris Evans. For the TV take on this post-apocalyptic train-set story, Derrickson has helped assemble an impressive cast consisting of Jennifer Connelly, Mickey Sumner, Alison Wright, Annalise Basso, Sasha Frolova and Hamilton star Daveed Diggs.
The Snowpiercer film’s director, Bong Joon-ho, is on board as an executive producer. Josh Friedman (War of the Worlds, Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles) has written the pilot episode script for TNT, crafting a narrative that revolves around an “ongoing mystery”. And now, judging by this set picture from Derrickson’s Instagram account, production on the pilot episode looks to be underway:
Of course, it’s impossible to extrapolate much information from a photograph of a chair. The show’s logo looks predictably icy, but this could well be an early design intended solely for the on-set seating and clothing. The actual series, should it eventually make it to the screen, could well have a different logo design.
So, the only real takeaway to be had from Derrickon’s post is the confirmation that this pilot episode is definitely happening – TNT ordered the pilot back in November 2016, and it’s good to know that Derrickson is now pressing ahead with filming. Interestingly, Derrickson opted recently to drop out of his other TV pilot project, Locke & Key, which clashed with the shooting schedule for Snowpiercer. The fact that he opted to stay with Snowpiercer suggests that he’s got a fair bit of faith in the project.
However, Derrickson will have to wait and see – along with everyone else – to find out whether his faith was well placed. It'll be a while until TNT decides whether or not to press ahead with a full series of Snowpiercer. Some have argued that it’s too soon to adapt this story again, but TNT’s network president Kevin Reilly clearly isn't one of them. Speaking in July, he had particular praise for the “really, really vibrant [characters] that Josh Friedman created for the series.”
MORE: Snowpiercer Season 1 Details 'Ongoing Mystery'
As production on the Snowpiercer pilot episode progresses, you can expect to find all of the latest updates right here on Screen Rant.