Well, this was a surprise to hear. Not only does Joel Silver have some movement on the ESCAPE FROM NEW YORK remake that has been lingering in development for years, but he has the hopes of turning it into a trilogy. This is a pretty bold move for a film that has had little luck making it to the big screen since John Carpenter‘s 1996 sequel, ESCAPE FROM LA.
Until two years ago, the rights to ESCAPE FROM NEW YORK were controlled by New Line Cinema. The last candidate to direct was Breck Eisner (THE CRAZIES) with potential actors for the lead including Jeremy Renner, Tom Hardy, and Gerard Butler. While none of those three feel like they could have filled Kurt Russell‘s boots as Snake Plissken, I wouldn’t have scoffed at Hardy in the role.
The rights are now in the hands of Studio Canal who, according to Deadline, have given control to producer Joel Silver. The hope is to treat the first film as an origin story with additional adventures to follow. I think going back to the character’s roots instead of just remaking the John Carpenter classic is the best direction for this project. We haven’t had a kick ass character like Plissken in a major movie in a long time. Hopefully they can get Kurt Russell to cameo.
The plot of the 1981 original follows Plissken, a tough convict dropped into a futuristic New York that has been turned into a post-apocalyptic maximum security prison. He’s charged with rescuing the president (Donald Pleasence), who is held hostage by the prison kingpin (Isaac Hayes) after his plane crashes within the city walls. Snake’s offered a pardon if he’s successful, but fitted with a lethal device that will kill him if he tries to run or misses the deadline.
Here’s hoping that this happens. The false starts have all been on projects that have sounded lackluster so far. This sounds like the right take on the movie to actually happen. I hope we hear more and soon.
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