Though many had written him off for dead, greasy antihero Snake Plissken is finally headed back to the big screen as a new studio picks up ESCAPE FROM NEW YORK and secures John Carpenter as exec producer.
The 1981 original was set in a cordoned-off Manhattan Island of the future (1997!), which served as a prison for assorted psychopaths and criminal masterminds. Donald Pleasence played the President, whose crash landing on the island led to the government forcing mercenary Plissken (Kurt Russell) to go in and rescue him. Carpenter co-wrote and directed.
A remake has been on the blood-spattered cards for a while, with both New Line Cinema and Joel Silver/StudioCanal attempting a franchise revival. Carpenter had a go himself via 1996’s ESCAPE FROM LA, which famously featured Russell chasing Steve Buscemi on a surfboard. Now 20th Century Fox are kicking the project into gear, though whether talk of a team-based movie will be built upon remains to be seen.
The Picture Company’s Alex Heineman and Andrew Rona are to produce. Director and cast are yet to be announced, but the speculation over who could portray the new Plissken should be feverish. Who would you say has the kahoneys to fill Kurt Russell’s sweaty boots? I’m going to start the ball rolling and say Buscemi’s Boardwalk Empire co-star Jack Huston. Welcome back Snake.
Source: ComingSoon
