As TNT’s Snowpiercer closes out its third season, the dystopian series is already looking ahead to season four, and has added Marvel’s Clark Gregg and Tony winner Michael Aronov to its cast. It also has a new showrunner: Paul Zbyszewski, who also has MCU experience; his previous credits include Agents of SHIELD, Helstrom, and Lost.
“I’m so grateful to everyone at TNT and Tomorrow Studios for letting me join the riveting world of Snowpiercer that Graeme and Aubrey have so beautifully crafted and built,” Zbyszewski said in a press release. “We have an exciting fourth season planned, and I can’t wait to be on set with such an incredible cast and crew as we continue to explore new worlds, create new mysteries, and develop character relationships.”
Snowpiercer, the TV series, is based on a film by Bong Joon-Ho (Parasite), which was itself based on a French graphic novel. The story begins after a climate apocalypse confines the only survivors on Earth to a single train, and explores social stratification of class across the vehicle. It’s easy to draw parallels between this set-up and that of larger space opera films, especially those that have arcs or are even entirely contained on a single ship: the near-future doomsday becomes real, the great planetary escape, the struggles to establish society in a new setting. Grounding Snowpiercer firmly on Earth makes the struggles seem much more immediate, more real. Fingers crossed the next season can keep the stakes high and the thriller vibe going.
As Gregg joins Snowpiercer’s fourth season, I have to wonder where all these new cast members are coming from? I suppose the train does have 1,001 cars, and the story has expanded somewhat over the show’s run so far, but still there can’t be that many hidey holes on a train. Who knows! But the season three finale — starting Daveed Diggs, Iddo Goldberg, Katie McGUinness, Rowan Blanchard, Roberto Urbina, and Jennifer Connelly — airs tonight, so maybe there’s a hint hidden in the engine room.