Attempts to remake John Carpenter’s Escape from New York have been going on so long, it’s hard to have any faith in it ever happening. The last we’d heard, Upgrade director Leigh Whannell was aboard and eyeing Wyatt Russell, son of the original Snake Plissken himself Kurt Russell, for the lead role. But that fell through, and now 20th Century Studios have found who is next up to bat.
Deadline confirms that directing trio Radio Silence, comprised of Matt Bettinelli-Olpin, Tyler Gillett, and Chad Villella, are attached to Escape from New York. Radio Silence most recently directed this year’s Scream, and are currently in production on Scream 6. They broke out with the 2019 hit thriller, Ready or Not.
The original 1981 film starred Russell as Snake Plissken, an inmate hired to rescue the POTUS from a future version of Manhattan that has been turned into a war zone and de facto prison.
Escape from New York is a stone cold classic, and woe be to any filmmaker who tries to measure up, and any actor who aims to fill Russell’s shoes. Good luck with that. I’m not convinced anybody can do this in a way that ends well. Robert Rodriguez, who was attached to it long ago, might have had the best shot.
