Zack Snyder is set to write and direct a “down and dirty” remake of John Carpenter’s Escape From New York, in the works at StudioCanal. In April, StudioCanal announced its plans to produce a reboot (or perhaps a remake) of Escape From New York – John Carpenter’s 1981 dystopian action classic. It’s now being reported ... Escape From New York | Zack Snyder set to direct the remake
Zack Snyder is set to write and direct a “down and dirty” remake of John Carpenter’s Escape From New York, in the works at StudioCanal.
In April, StudioCanal announced its plans to produce a reboot (or perhaps a remake) of Escape From New York – John Carpenter’s 1981 dystopian action classic.
It’s now being reported that Zack Snyder, of 300, Batman V Superman and Sucker Punch fame, will write and direct – the plan being to have the finished film in cinemas reasonably quickly.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, which first published the story, the new Escape won’t be a huge, polished production like Snyder’s superhero movies; instead, the outlet writes that the filmmaker aims “to make a more down and dirty movie, using plenty of practical effects or locations.”
Comparisons are also made to Snyder’s feature debut, Dawn Of The Dead, a brutally efficient remake of George A Romero’s zombie horror that was relatively light on the speed-ramped, hyper-stylised photography that came to the fore in the filmmaker’s later work.
History is littered with the husks of failed Escape From New York reboot attempts, however. Such directors as Robert Rodriguez, Leigh Whannell and Len Wiseman have all given it a try at one point or another. Most recently, filmmaking collective Radio Silence were talking about a remake, but dropped out in May 2024.
There’s also the question of who could replace Kurt Russell, who made the central role of Snake Plissken – complete with eyepatch, muscle shirt and distrustful sneer – his own own in 1981. Gerard Butler and Timothy Olyphant have been named as replacements over the years, though Snyder will likely be looking for a younger incarnation of the anti-hero, sent in to rescue the US President from a fortified Manhattan filled with convicts.
Will this latest attempt to revive an 80s gem finally get made? StudioCanal and The Picture Company, which is partnering on the project, certainly seem keen to fast-track it. We’ll bring you more as we hear it.
In the meantime, why not read our story of Lockout, the Luc Besson-produced 2011 action film considered so similar to Escape From New York that it ended up in court?
