“Where do they go, the ones who run away and never return?†a man asks over a slow motion shot of people falling into darkness in the new The Underground Railroad trailer. Fans of Colson Whitehead’s Pulitzer Prize–winning novel (which the show is based on) will already know, but everyone else can discover the answer as Cora Randall (Thuso Mbedu) stumbles upon a locomotive network hidden beneath Southern soil. Rather than the metaphorical Underground Railroad she was searching for, her torchlight reveals a path to freedom that involves an actual system of engineers and conductors. But she’s followed on her journey from state to state by Ridgeway (Joel Edgerton), a bounty hunter determined to bring her back to the Georgia plantation where she escaped slavery. “Ain’t no way he ever giving up on finding me,†Cora says grimly.
In between vivid shots of flames, forests, and fields of cotton, the preview of the ten-episode limited series provides a look at some of the other members of the packed cast. “There is nothing here but suffering, pain and suffering. It is time to go,†Aaron Pierre declares, while William Jackson Harper watches appreciatively as Cora fires a gun. Chase W. Dillon, 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 are also set to star, with Barry Jenkins directing all episodes. The Underground Railroad is out on May 14 on Amazon Prime Video. After months of hints from Jenkins, watch the new official trailer above and the last teaser below.