While the ongoing covid-19 outbreak has led to the postponement of a number of highly anticipated movies, networks like TNT are seizing on their chance to take advantage of the fact that people are staying at home. The network’s adaptation of Snowpiercer has been a long time coming, but now, the train’s going to be chugging into our TVs a little ahead of schedule.
TNT announced that it now plans to debut Snowpiercer on May 17, a few weeks ahead of the series’ original release date on May 31. In a statement about the network’s decision, TNT general manager Brett Weitz was rather frank about the logic at work.
“Snowpiercer is one of the most anticipated original series of 2020 and in this climate, viewers are craving thrilling, engaging, edge-of-your-seat content that speaks to them on a deeper level,” Weitz said. “It is extremely important that we continue with our promise to meet audiences where they are, and to that effect, we are moving up Snowpiercer’s premiere so that fans can enjoy this futuristic series even earlier.”
In addition to the new release date, TNT also dropped a new teaser trailer introducing us to Snowpiercer’s new cast of characters, who are all living on a massive train that endlessly traverses the frozen, dead world. The trailer’s cryptic and doesn’t say much about the series’ plot, but it does make clear that a social revolution is bubbling up within the bowels of the train and it won’t be long before a war breaks out between its socially stratified passengers.
Snowpiercer now premiers on TNT on May 17 in the U.S. An Australian release has not been confirmed yet.