Snowpiercer TV show finds new director
By Shawn Lealos
The TNT adaptation of Snowpiercer is trying to survive the terrible news that it lost its original director Scott Derrickson.
Based on the French graphic novel by Jacques Lob (writer) and Jean-Marc Rochette (art), Snowpiercer takes place in an apocalyptic future where the planet has been ravaged by a new ice age and the only survivors live aboard a high-speed train that is self-sustaining.
The conflict takes place on the train itself, where the uber-rich live in the front of the train and the poorest of poor are stuffed like cattle in the back. Soon, a rebellion starts where the poor want to move forward and find armed guards in the way.
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The book was originally adapted into a movie directed by Bong Joon-Ho (The Host) and starred Tilda Swinton and Chris Evans.
The Snowpiercer TV show had some great names behind it. Josh Friedman (Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles ) signed on as the showrunner and Scott Derrickson (Doctor Strange) directed the pilot.
The problem is that Friedman left in January over creative differences, with Graeme Manson (Orphan Black) replacing him. This month, Derrickson also stepped away from the project, even after directing the pilot, also for creative differences.
According to Collider, Derrickson was less than pleased with Manson’s new direction of the Snowpiercer TV show.
The 72-page Snowpiercer TV pilot script by @Josh_Friedman is the best I’ve ever read. The feature-length pilot I made from that script may be my best work.
— N O S ⋊ Ɔ I ᴚ ᴚ Ǝ ᗡ ⊥ ⊥ O Ɔ S (@scottderrickson) June 29, 2018
The new show runner has a radically different vision for the show. I am forgoing my option to direct the extreme reshoots.
That is not positive, despite the creative genius of a show like Orphan Black. This also came two months after Friedman called Manson for how the change in showrunners went down.
Put another way: if you were to take over a show I'd originated and worked on for two years and didn't reach out to me before taking the job you're either an idiot, a coward, or a vichy motherfucker.
— josh friedman (@Josh_Friedman) May 17, 2018
With that said, Scott Derrickson’s replacement has also been found. The new Snowpiercer TV show director is James Hawes of Doctor Who fame. Hawes will also serve as the co-executive producer.
According to Variety, it was TNT that demanded that Josh Friedman be removed as the showrunner because they believed he would not be compliant with their demands for the show.
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With Derrickson on the side of Friedman, it sounds like the network wanted Yes Men and found them in Manson and Hawes, which doesn’t bode well for fans of the graphic novel.
Jennifer Connelly and Daveed Diggs will star in the Snowpiercer TV series and it is still expected to hit TNT sometime this year.