Back in November of last year it was announced that TNT had given the green light to a TV pilot for Snowpiercer, based on the acclaimed 2013 movie from Bong Joon Ho, and now we have word that Jennifer Connelly has signed on to star opposite Hamilton’s Daveed Diggs.
Snowpiercer will take place seven years after the Earth has become a frozen wasteland, with the survivors inhabiting a gigantic train that circles the globe. Doctor Strange director Scott Derrickson is helming the pilot, which has been written by Josh Friedman (Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles), who also serves as showrunner.
Connelly is set to play Melanie Cavill, “a First Class passenger who works as the Voice of the Train – responsible for making the daily announcements over its PA system. Though many in her VIP position are dismissive of the lower class passengers, Melanie is curiously fascinated by them.”
Diggs, who was cast last month, is on board to portray “Layton Well, a prisoner who becomes a reluctant participant in a struggle that could upend life on the train.”
UPDATE: It’s also been announced that Mickey Sumner (Frances Ha) has joined the pilot and will play Bess Till. Her character description reads: “Thoughtful, empathetic and savvy, Bess is a brakeman, part of the train’s security force. She finds herself at the center of a mystery that rocks the train’s uneasy status quo.”