Chris Evans Looking Miserable In First Images From Bong Joon-ho's Snowpiercer

Notice the “Personal Achievement/Filmography: Scream Awards Best Superhero” at the bottom of Evans’ passport.

Sure, the extremely high-profile Oblivion and Star Trek Into Darkness are probably the most anticipated science fiction films coming this year, but everyone kind of knows what to expect from both of these films, regardless of the secrecy they’re clouded in. Arguably more exciting for those looking for something outside the box is Snowpiercer, the English-language debut from South Korean director Joon-ho Bong, who gave audiences the rollicking good time that was the creature feature The Host. But other than a poster and some concept art, visuals for the film have been largely absent. Until now, of course.

The first batch of clever promotional material that Snowpiercer has to offer comes in the form of passports for its miserable looking characters, and they perfectly portray the dark, dreary and mysterious tone the film seems to exude.

Snowpiercertakes place in a near-future where an environmentally-damaged Earth is in the midst of an Ice Age, and the planet’s remaining survivors are all riders on a speeding train powered by perpetual motion. One would hope that during such an ordeal, humanity would come together as one, and the need for such xenophobic identification as passports would be outdated. But the film is probably closer to the truth, and the train’s cars are set up as a class system, keeping everyone separated. Take a look at a few more below, and see if you get as amped up as I am to see Ewan Bremner’s “Carrot Top/Flava Flav” combo in action.

It’s not as if the visual clues from the film stills don’t make the class separation obvious, but the passports do contain at least those clues, telling us the poor decrepit-looking folks are in the tail section, while Tilda Swinton’s fancy ass is in the front. There’s also a prison section and an engine room, where Ed Harris hides in the shadows. The rest of the passports can be seen here. Thanks to Movies.com for I.D.ing these great images.

Snowpiercer also stars Jamie Bell, John Hurt, Ko Asung and Octavia Spencer. Though The Weinstein Company owns the theatrical rights, they’ve been very tight-lipped about a release date. Hope it happens before the next ice age.

Here's Bong's own passport, just because.

Nick Venable
Assistant Managing Editor

Nick is a Cajun Country native and an Assistant Managing Editor with a focus on TV and features. His humble origin story with CinemaBlend began all the way back in the pre-streaming era, circa 2009, as a freelancing DVD reviewer and TV recapper.  Nick leapfrogged over to the small screen to cover more and more television news and interviews, eventually taking over the section for the current era and covering topics like Yellowstone, The Walking Dead and horror. Born in Louisiana and currently living in Texas — Who Dat Nation over America’s Team all day, all night — Nick spent several years in the hospitality industry, and also worked as a 911 operator. If you ever happened to hear his music or read his comics/short stories, you have his sympathy.