John Carpenter Pleased Robert Rodriguez to Direct ‘Escape From New York’ Reboot
A remake/reboot of John Carpenter’s classic Escape From New York has been in the works for a number of years, but a surprise announcement surfaced yesterday that Robert Rodriguez will direct the return of Snake Plissken!
As previously reported, the new Escape from a New York will be a prequel, kicking off a new trilogy of Snake Plissken movies that will lead up the events of the original film.
20th Century Fox hopes the new films will reboot the franchise while still remaining “in canon”, much like the studio has done recently with Plant of the Apes.
Snake Plissken, originally played by Kurt Russell, will reportedly not have his signature eye patch, though I completely expect this decision to be revisited before production actually begins, unless of course they want to reveal just how Plissken got the eye patch in the first place during the course of the film.
Neal Cross, creator of the BBC crime series Luther, beat out several writers to win the writing job, and delivered a first-draft in late October.
The Wrap’s earlier report also included 10 reveals about what we can expect, which you can read here.
Released by Avco Embassy in 1981, the original Escape From New York starred Kurt Russell as the ultimate anti-hero badass, Snake Plissken, the most wanted man in America who is apprehended and then forced to save the president of the United States (played by Carpenter regular Donald Pleasence) after his plane is hijacked by terrorists and crashes in a future Manhattan-turned-maximum security prison. John Carpenter directed the film, which he co-wrote with Nick Castle (who played Michael Myers in Carpenter’s Halloween a few years earlier).
Russell returned as Plissken in Carpenter’s 1996 sequel Escape From L.A.
Robert Rodriguez is well known to genre fans as the director of Sin City, The Faculty, From Dusk Till Dawn, Machete, and the Spy Kids franchise, among others.
Initially reported by Deadline, John Carpenter offered his blessing on Facebook last night, where he stated simply, “Robert Rodriguez is directing Escape From New York. I am thrilled. He is a great director.”
What do you think of this news? Are you ready for the return of Snake Plissken?
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