After years of failed attempts to remake John Carpenter’s classic Escape from New York, it’s finally happening and with a surprising choice behind the camera. THR reports Zack Snyder will write and direct the film, which introduced us to Kurt Russell’s iconic performance as the eyepatch-wearing antihero, Snake Plissken.
Snyder’s “down and dirty” take on Escape from New York is being called a “reimagining”, and will be shopped to markets in the coming weeks. There is no star attached as of yet, although Wyatt Russell seems like a perfect choice, if you ask me.
The plan for Snyder is to set aside the slick, CGI-heavy visuals he’s favored in recent years of failed DCEU and Rebel Moon projects. Instead, he’ll opt to use more practical effects to create a more grounded film, similar to his tremendous Dawn of the Dead remake. If he can do with Escape from New York what he did for that film, we could be in for a treat.
The original 1981 film starred Russell as Snake Plissken, an inmate hired to rescue the POTUS from a dystopian future version of Manhattan that has been turned into a war zone and de facto prison.
Multiple creators have taken shots at rebooting the franchise. Len Wiseman, Brett Ratner, Robert Rodriguez, Leigh Whannell, and Radio Silence have all given it a go. Carpenter is attached as an exec-producer, but has largely stayed away from the franchise.
Snyder has a rabid fanbase that will support pretty much anything he does. I dig him, too, even if his ambition often exceeds his ability, as it did with Rebel Moon and Sucker Punch. For this reason, and his aggressive social media presence, he’s maybe the most polarizing filmmaker around. He can still do get stuff; I would point to Army of the Dead as an example. It just depends on which Snyder we’re going to get.
