Zack Snyder is heading into Snake Plissken territory. The filmmaker behind 300 and Zack Snyder’s Justice League has come aboard to write and direct a reimagining of Escape from New York.
The original John Carpenter film introduced audiences to Snake Plissken, the cool, eye-patch-wearing, cobra-tattooed anti-hero who became one of dystopian action cinema’s defining figures.
Project Heads To Market
The new feature is being assembled now and is expected to go out to market in the coming weeks.
The project marks the first concrete movement in years toward getting a new Escape from New York movie off the ground. Sources say the intent is to release the film theatrically.
The Picture Company partners Andrew Rona and Alex Heineman will produce through their overall deal with StudioCanal. StudioCanal controls the underlying rights to the property along with Carpenter.
Snyder will also produce through his Stone Quarry banner with partners Deborah Snyder and Wesley Coller. Carpenter is involved as executive producer.
The Original Film
Carpenter’s 1981 movie took place in a future version of 1997, where Manhattan had become an island-sized maximum-security prison.
After the President of the United States crash lands in the decaying city with sensitive information that could change the world, former military hero turned outlaw Snake Plissken is forced into a rescue mission. To survive, he must battle gangs, the army, and former associates.
Kurt Russell starred as Plissken. The cast also included Ernest Borgnine, Isaac Hayes, Donald Pleasance, Harry Dean Stanton, and Adrienne Barbeau.
Carpenter followed the film with the 1996 sequel Escape from L.A.
Snyder’s Approach
Details of Snyder’s take remain under wraps.
Sources say he aims to make a more down-and-dirty version of the material. The plan includes practical effects and real locations, similar to the approach he used on his feature directorial debut, the remake of Dawn of the Dead.
That would mark a shift from the more polished scale of his later superhero films, including Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice.
Hollywood’s Long Road Back To Plissken
Hollywood has tried for years to revive Escape from New York, but the project has struggled to gain traction.
New Line once held the rights during a period that saw Len Wiseman, Brett Ratner, and Breck Eisner among the directors circling the project. Gerard Butler was attached to play Plissken.
Robert Rodriguez was attached to direct a version when the rights were at 20th Century Fox in 2017. Leigh Whannell was also involved at one point. Radio Silence was connected to a more recent incarnation.
StudioCanal Eyes Franchise Growth
StudioCanal has made Escape from New York a priority.
CEO and Canal+ chief content officer Anna Marsh and executive vice president of global marketing and distribution Hugh Spearing mentioned the title during the company’s presentation at this year’s CinemaCon.
The company is working to strengthen its franchise portfolio, which already includes the Paddington movies and recent Evil Dead films.
