20th Century Fox has picked up the rights to remake the 1981 John Carpenter-directed cult classic Escape From New York, according to Deadline, who had the exclusive on the news.
Andrew Rona and Alex Heineman’s The Picture Company will produce the remake, with Carpenter serving as executive producer who will “exert creative influence over the project.”
The original took place in a dystopian future (in 1997!) where Manhattan has become a maximum security prison, which Kurt Russell’s eye-patch-wearing badass Snake Plissken must breach in order to save the President of the United States, who’s captive there after Air Force One crashes on the island.
Talk of a remake has been circulating for years, with New Line eventually opting out and then producer Joel Silver was eying the property with reports that his Silver Pictures even had a short list of actors for the lead, including Sons Of Anarchy star Charlie Hunnam. Way back in 2007 when asked about a remake with Scottish actor Gerald Butler possibly in the lead, Kurt Russell said it wouldn’t fit since Plissken was “quintessentially one thing. And that is, American.” When asked at that time if he’d do a cameo, the actor replied, “F”” that! I am Snake Plissken!”
Now that Fox has the rights, in the coming months we’ll start to hear more about casting and storylines, so expect the usual slew of rumors for a while.
In the meantime, you can enjoy BOOM! Studios’ comic book series sequel, Escape From New York, which Carpenter is also overseeing: Issue #1 and Issue #2 are out now.
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