Another year, another attempt at rebooting John Carpenter’s 1981 film Escape From New York. This time, Zack Snyder will write and direct the feature for The Picture Company, through a deal with StudioCanal and Carpenter.
The project is currently being put together to take to market in the next few weeks.
Escape From New York takes place in the (at the time) near future of 1997. The United States is so riddled with crime that Manhattan is 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 within 24 hours to be pardoned.
Escape From New York also starred Ernest Borgnine, Isaac Hayes, Donald Pleasence, Harry Dean Stanton, and Adrienne Barbeau. It spawned the 1996 sequel Escape from L.A., which Carpenter also directed.
Snyder’s Escape From New York
While Snyder’s take on the material is still firmly under wraps at this time. It’s being reported that it will be more like his grittier style with the Dawn of the Dead remake. Versus the slick and polished look he used in Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice.
This is far from the first time someone has tried to reboot Escape From New York. In 2022, Radio Silence was set to direct this reboot for the same companies currently attached, sans 20th Century Fox. In 2017, both Robert Rodriguez and Leigh Whannell were attached to direct for 20th Century, which had the rights at the time. Before that, it was New Line, which had directors like Len Wiseman, Brett Ratner, and Breck Eisner attached at various points. So you’ll have to forgive fans for taking a cautious approach to expecting this project to ever get off the ground.
Andrew Rona and Alex Heineman will produce for The Picture Company partners through their overall deal with StudioCanal. Snyder will produce, via his Stone Quarry production banner, with partners Deborah Snyder and Wesley Coller. Carpenter, who still controls the underlying rights to Escape From New York, will executive produce.
We’ll keep you posted on updates about the newest reboot as they become available.
