Veteran TV Director James Hawes Replaces Scott Derrickson On ‘Snowpiercer’ TV Pilot

Remember those “extreme reshoots” that forced filmmaker Scott Derrickson from to quit the “Snowpiercer” TV series? Well, now we know who the man behind the camera that will helm those scenes is set to be. According to Variety, veteran TV director James Hawes has stepped in to finish the work on the pilot episode of the TNT series.

READ MORE: Scott Derrickson Quits “Radically” Altered ‘Snowpiercer’ Series; Lexi Alexander Laments Loss Of Its Inclusiveness

Less than two weeks ago, “Doctor Strange” director Derrickson went on Twitter to voice his displeasure for how the TV adaptation of “Snowpiercer” was being handled. He said, “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. The new showrunner has a radically different vision for the show. I am forgoing my option to direct the extreme reshoots.”

The exact nature of those reshoots is still not known, but Derrickson’s tweet definitely caught the eye of fans hoping that the series would be as good as Bong Joon-ho’s incredible 2013 film. However, with that tweet, many people started to wonder just how much of a trainwreck the TNT series might become. Enter James Hawes to figure it out.

Hawes is a veteran of TV director, who has been behind-the-camera for a multitude of series, including “Black Mirror,” “Doctor Who,” “Penny Dreadful,” “Genius,” and most recently, “The Alienist.” Clearly, this is a guy you call when you want an episode of television completed. The real question now is how the new version of the pilot will differ from Derrickson’s vision. Let’s get #DerricksonCut trending immediately, what do you say? (Kidding, please don’t.)

“Snowpiercer” is set to star Jennifer Connelly, Daveed Diggs, Mickey Sumner, Susan Park, Benjamin Haigh, and Sasha Frolova. As mentioned above, the showrunner was recently changed from Josh Friedman, best known for “Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles,” to Graeme Manson, who is the co-creator of BBC America’s smash hit “Orphan Black.”

We still don’t know what the future holds for “Snowpiercer” on TV. If the pilot is as troubled as we are led to believe, perhaps TNT might just pass on the project. However, it seems like the network believes in the story and is doing everything they can to move forward. Guess we’ll find out soon enough.

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.

The new show runner has a radically different vision for the show. I am forgoing my option to direct the extreme reshoots.

— N O S ⋊ Ɔ I ᴚ ᴚ Ǝ ᗡ ⊥ ⊥ O Ɔ S (@scottderrickson) June 29, 2018