'The Underground Railroad' Trailer: Another Great Look At The New Barry Jenkins Amazon Series

The Underground Railroad, the new limited series from director Barry Jenkins that's based on the Pulitzer Prize-winning novel by Colson Whitehead, has already released several gorgeous teasers. Now, as we get closer to the premiere date, there's a new trailer, and it once again makes it clear that this is going to be an absolute must-see. Featuring gorgeously lit cinematography via James Laxton, the look of this series alone puts so many other shows to shame. Watch The Underground Railroad trailer below.

In The Underground Railroad, Cora (Thuso Mbedu) escapes a Georgia plantation and goes looking for "the rumored Underground Railroad," only to discover it's "no mere metaphor, but an actual railroad full of engineers and conductors, and a secret network of tracks and tunnels beneath the Southern soil. Over the course of her journey, Cora is pursued by Ridgeway (Joel Edgerton), a bounty hunter who is fixated on bringing her back to the plantation she escaped; especially since her mother Mabel is the only one he has never caught. As she travels from state to state, Cora contends with the legacy of the mother that left her behind and her own struggles to realize a life she never thought was possible."

The full cast features Thuso Mbedu, Chase W. Dillon, Joel Edgerton, Aaron Pierre, William Jackson Harper, Sheila Atim, Amber Gray, Peter De Jersey, Chukwudi Iwuji, Damon Herriman, Lily Rabe, Irone Singleton, Mychal-Bella Bowman, Marcus "MJ" Gladney, Jr., Will Poulter, and Peter Mullan.

Barry Jenkins serves as showrunner and directs all ten episodes of the limited series, and even if I hadn't already seen this trailer, Jenkins' presence alone would make this a must-watch. He's a great director, and the more movies and TV shows he makes, the better off we'll all be. The fact that every teaser and trailer released so far has been downright gorgeous only sweetens the deal. Jenkins's directing looks incredible here, aided by cinematography from James Laxton, who filmed both Moonlight and If Beale Street Could Talk.

In an interview with Shadow and Act, Jenkins said that he only agreed to adapt Colson Whitehead's Pulitzer Prize-winning novel if he could do it as a series. "I want to have the opportunity to go past the assumptions of the conditions of an enslaved person and past the reductions of humanity of an enslaved person," Jenkins said. "I think to do that, I need 10 hours. I need 10 episodes. I can't do it in two hours. And I'm glad [Colson Whitehead] said, 'I agree.'"

Jenkins executive produces the series with Adele Romanski, Mark Ceryak, Dede Gardner, Jeremy Kleiner, Brad Pitt, Richard Heus, Jacqueline Hoyt, and Colson Whitehead. The Underground Railroad is a production of Plan B, Pastel, and Big Indie with Amazon Studios. All episodes of The Underground Railroad premiere on Amazon Prime Video on May 14, 2021.