Directing team Radio Silence is set to tackle the reboot of John Carpenter‘s “Escape From New York” for 20th Century Studios. Radio Silence is made up of filmmakers Matt Bettinelli-Olpin, Tyler Gillett, and Chad Villella.
The original “Escape From New York” was released in 1981, but took place in the (at the time) near future of 1997. The United States was so riddled with crime, Manhattan turned into the country’s only maximum security prison. So a group of anti-government insurgents decides to hijack Air Force One and crash it there. It is then up to ex-soldier and current prisoner Snake Plissken (Kurt Russell) to save the president. The catch is he has to do it in within 24 hours to be pardoned.
“Escape From New York” was directed, co-written, and co-scored by the legendary John Carpenter, who will be returning for the reboot as an executive producer. The French company Studiocanal will hold distribution rights in several territories. The Picture Company has an overall deal with Studiocanal so their partners Andrew Rona and Alex Heineman will produce the reboot, along with Radio Silence.
Steve Asbell and J.R. Young are overseeing “Escape From New York” for the studio. Asbell has been a driving force in 20th Century Studios’ recent wave of reimagining- like “Predator” entry “Prey,” and the upcoming Fede Álvarez addition to the “Alien” franchise.
This won’t be Radio Silence’s first time jumping onto an established property, either. The team directed the relaunch of Wes Craven’s “Scream” (2022) for Paramount. It was wildly successful grossing, $140 million at the worldwide box office. And they just wrapped on “Scream 6,” which will come out sometime next year. While not a pre-established property, Radio Silence is also responsible for Searchlight’s mega-hit “Ready or Not.”
There is no word on what the plot since there is still no writer attached. At present, Kurt Russell is not involved. Stay tuned for updates on this and other news.
Pick up the 4K collector’s addition of the original “Escape from New York” from Amazon here.
