Snake Plissken will be heading back to the big screen! Deadline reports today that 20th Century Fox has won the remake rights to John Carpenter’s enduring action thriller, Escape From New York. What’s more, Carpenter himself is set to serve as executive producer!
Set in a dystopic future, the 1981 original original stars Kurt Russell as Plissken, an eyed-patched convict sent into a maximum security prison (formerly the island of Manhattan) to rescue the President.
Carpenter directed his own sequel to the original, Escape From L.A., in 1996, although that film is decidedly less-beloved by fans of the original.
It’s been nearly two years since the idea of rebooting the property made headlines with an attempt by Joel Silver and StudioCanal. Before that, New Line Cinema had been planning a remake for some time with The Crazies director Breck Eisner attached to helm. Before that, Len Wiseman was planning a version that would have starred Gerard Butler in the Plissken role.
Carpenter, who, until now, was never involved in any of the reboot plans, last directed 2010’s The Ward, a horror thriller starring Amber Heard.
The new Escape From New York does not yet have a director, but Alex Heineman and Andrew Rona of The Picture Company are attached to serve as producers.
