StudioCanal to ‘Escape from New York’ with New Reimagining
Huge news out of Cinemacon as it has been announced that StudioCanal is in development on a reboot of John Carpenter’s ‘Escape from New York’
Cinemacon kicks off today in Las Vegas, and we already have our first huge piece of news this evening as THR reports that StudioCanal has partnered with The Picture Company to develop a “reimagining” of John Carpenter‘s dystopian classic, Escape from New York!
Executive VP of Global Marketing and Distribution for the studio, Hugh Spearing, announced the news.
Carpenter’s 1981 sci-fi action film follows Kurt Russell as Snake Plissken, a prisoner who is tasked with rescuing the president (Donald Pleasance) after his plane crashes in the middle of a quarantined New York inhabited by deadly criminals. The role helped to cement Russell as one of the ultimate badasses in cinema as well as a Carpenter regular.
Attempts to remake Escape from New York stretch back to the mid-2000s, with Len Wiseman attached around 2007–2010 at New Line, Breck Eisner at Fox in 2015, Radio Silence developing a version around 2019, and Robert Rodriguez announced in 2022, all of which failed to get off the ground.
It’s easy to understand why. Escape from New York is a bonafide classic, made with that perfect 80s aesthetic. One of the ultimate anti-hero films from a filmmaker in Carpenter who constantly rebelled against authority in his work. A remake is no small task. That said, the time couldn’t be more ripe for an update that gives a middle finger to the ruling class. So, consider me at least curious.
At this time, we have no further details on the project. But rest assured, we’ll be keeping a close eye on this one.
Stay tuned to Dread for more details as we learn them.