Some movies never really leave the culture, even when Hollywood keeps taking its time figuring out what to do with them next. Escape From New York is one of those titles. John Carpenter’s 1981 cult classic has cast a huge shadow for decades, not just because Snake Plissken is one of the coolest antiheroes ever put on screen, but because the film’s grimy, dystopian vibe still hits. It’s the kind of movie people don’t just remember — they kind of mythologize it. And now, after years of stop-start remake chatter, the project has real movement again.
At CinemaCon, StudioCanal executive Hugh Spearing confirmed that the company is partnering with producers The Picture Company to develop a reimagining of Escape From New York. The announcement was part of StudioCanal’s presentation during the inaugural CinemaCon Film Showcase in Las Vegas on April 13. Escape From New York has been circling reboot territory for years, with different studios and creative teams attached at various points, but this new version marks a fresh push from StudioCanal alongside The Picture Company. There’s no director, writer, or cast announced yet, so for now, this is very much a development-stage story, but it does mean one of Carpenter’s most iconic films is officially back on the table again.
How Good Is ‘Escape From New York’?
Released in 1981, the original Escape From New York starred Kurt Russell as Snake Plissken, a war hero turned criminal who’s sent to the island of Manhattan, which has been turned into a maximum security prison, to rescue the President. The film also starred Lee Van Cleef, Ernest Borgnine, Donald Pleasence, Isaac Hayes, Harry Dean Stanton, and Adrienne Barbeau.
The iconic Roger Ebert stated that Escape From New York has all the right ingredients for a great pulp thriller, but it never fully pulls them together. The setup is undeniably strong: Manhattan has become a giant prison, the President has been taken hostage, and a criminal is sent in to save him with a ticking clock hanging over his head. That is a great hook. The problem is that the movie never builds that world or those characters deeply enough to make the story as gripping as it should be. Ebert wrote:
“A bunch of familiar faces turn up in supporting roles. Ernest Borgnine is the last of the wise-guy New York cabbies, still looking for fares in the jungle. Isaac Hayes is the gang leader, Harry Dean Stanton is his personal advisor, and Adrienne Barbeau is his ‘squeeze.’ Making this list, I keep being reminded of the word I started out with: Ingredients. Everything is here, and it all works fairly well, but it never quite comes together into an involving story or an overpowering adventure.”
via Collider