New Line Cinema and Warner Brothers Pictures have decided not to remake the Kurt Russell cult classic, Escape From New York, which they had been developing for some time now.

The powers that be at said companies have chosen to let their option on the property to expire, basically, and now the rights are up for grabs for another studio that may have a vision for bringing Snake Plissken back to life on the Big Screen.

The movie is set in a disastrous futuristic New York City, where the city has been fortified, locked down, and turned into a maximum security prison. When Air Force One forcefully goes down, the president is forced to bail from the plane, landing him right into the heart of the prison, making him a major hostage for the criminals to use to their benefit. This is where Russell’s Mr. Plissken””a former war hero–turned–bank–robber””is offered a deal: rescue the president and return him safely, and he will earn his freedom. But to ensure his commitment to the job, Snake is injected with a tiny–yet–powerful explosive that will be detonated if he fails or tries bail out.

New Line had The Crazies and Sahara director Breck Eisner lined up for the job, from a script by Allan Loeb (21, Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps) and others.

[Source: Deadline]