Escape from New Yorkis one of my favorite movies, so I’m glad the remake appears to have finally died in development. The original 1981John Carpenter moviehas one of the all-time great movie hooks; the most dangerous convict in the world, Snake Plissken (Kurt Russell), is forced to rescue the kidnapped President from New York, which has been walled off and turned into a hellish prison.Escape from New Yorkis one of Carpenter’s best, filled with great sequences and dialogue.
I’ve always felt that one minor flaw is that the film’s modest budget meant it couldn’t fully use its setting.Escape From New York’saction is relatively small-scale, and it doesn’t take audiences to some of the city’s most iconic locations, like Central Park or the subway. In theory, a big-budget reboot could really flesh out the concept and make it much larger, buttheEscape from New Yorkreboot has been trapped in development hell for decades.
Escape From New York Remake Chances Addressed By Former Director Candidate
Director Leigh Whannell, a former candidate to lead a remake of Escape from New York, addresses what the chances are that the project will happen.
Escape From New York’s Remake Never Sounded Like A Good Idea
Leigh Whannell’s Escape From New York update is a relief
The remake has cycled through many potential actors and directors too, with the directing team Radio Silence being the latest to exit (or escape) the project. Another directing candidate was Leigh Whannell (The Invisible Man), who toldComicBookthat while he would still consider making the film, “it’s not happening” for now - or possibly ever. After about 20 years of development, I take this as good news. In truth,none of the pitches for anEscape From New Yorkreboot sounded like good ideas.
There was producer Joel Silver’s trilogy plan (viaEmpire), which included a prequel revealing how Snake lost his eye. There was Neil Cross' script for director Robert Rodriguez, which swapped out the bleak prison for a gleaming utopia taken over by terrorists and drones. There was even a script where Snake was already serving time in New York and was more of an overt hero.Of all the concepts I heard for the reboot, the best was from writer Ken Nolan (Black Hawk Down), who basically copied the original screenplay but beefed it up with more expensive actionscenes.
What Makes Escape From New York A 1980s Action Classic
There’s just no escaping the John Carpenter/Kurt Russell original
Escape From New Yorkisone of five movies John Carpenter and Kurt Russell made together,and whileThe Thingwill always be my favorite,EFNYis a close second. The reason it works so well isn’t impressive action or effects; it’s the characters, the worldbuilding, and the generalvibes. A new version could add bigger explosions, but it would never find an actor who could best Russell anda remake would never recapture what madeEscape From New Yorkso damn cool.
John Carpenter planned a third movie calledEscape from Earth, which was canceled after the second entry flopped.
There’s Plissken’s glib one-liners, the eerily deserted city, the supporting cast - including Lee Van Cleef and Harry Dean Stanton - the various chase sequences, and so forth.I’ve lost count of the number of films that borrowed or outright ripped the film off too, fromSuicide SquadtoDoomsdayor 2012’sLockout;Carpenter even successfully sued the production company behind the latter for copyright infringement. None of them have come close, and outside of mild curiosity for what a more expensive version would look like, I’d just fine rewatching the originalEscape from New Yorkagain.
If any filmmaker could do something different or interesting with a newEscape From New York, it would be Leigh Whannell…
The only thing that’s really measured up to it is the video gameBatman: Arkham City,where the caped crusader becomes trapped inside the titular walled-off prison. If any filmmaker could do something different or interesting withEscape From New York, it would be Whannell, but even so, I’m glad to hear it (probably) won’t happen now. After all, the last thing the world needs is another disappointing remake of a John Carpenter classic.
Escape From New York
Cast
John Carpenter takes on the role of writer, composer, and director in Escape from New York, a post-apocalyptic sci-fi film where a large portion of New York City is converted into the biggest prison in the world, with all criminals in the United States sentenced there. When the President is kidnapped and taken abruptly into the heart of the prison, the government will turn to former soldier turned convict Snake Plissken to rescue him within twenty-four hours in exchange for a full pardon of his crimes.
