For over a decade, there’s been an exhausting attempt to remake John Carpenter‘s 1981 dystopian flick “Escape From New York,” which had Kurt Russell flexing his action chops for the first time. However, the project has seen its fair share of developmental hiccups over the years, with it now attached to 20th Century Studios instead of New Line Cinema. But a decent update last month indicates signs of life on a potential return to Carpenter’s dystopian future America. After folks like Robert Rodriguez and Leigh Whannel previously stepped aside, the Radio Silence trio (“Scream VI“) are now on board to direct the project. That’s promising news, given their previous success in the “V/H/S” and “Scream” horror franchises.
Now, Radio Silence (Tyler Gillett, Matt Bettinelli-Olpin, and Chad Villella) tells Entertainment Weekly that “Escape From New York” won’t be a direct remake but instead a “continuation.” They cite their current run of legacy sequels in the “Scream” franchise as inspiration, both of which blend established franchise characters alongside new ones. So, imagine Russell’s Snake Plissken alongside new characters. That sounds cool enough, but right now it’s unclear if Russell will even participate in the film, as he hasn’t played the role since the messy sequel “Escape From L.A.,” released back in 1997.
“Not a remake,” Gillett clarified about their incarnation of the project. “That’s one of those properties that you can’t [remake], it’s sort of untouchable to us, and lives in its own stratosphere in terms of how important it is to us, and how much we love it. So it’ll be not unlike “Scream,” I think; a nod to, and a continuation of, what we love about those characters and that world.” Villella added that the Radio Silence team hopes to start working on the film’s script soon and that the film is still only in the early stages of development. “We’re developing our take,” he said, “and hopefully, it will be going to script sometime in the New Year, and just really starting to lay the groundwork for that. But very early stages.”
So, will Radio Silence ultimately approach Russell to return as Snake Plissken, the gruff former war hero turned criminal? That remains unclear. However, if Gillett, Bettinelli-Olpin, and Villella have their “Scream” installments as their template, then they leave the door open for at least an offer for Russell to return. It’s not as if Blumhouse/Universal had difficulty convincing Carpenter to help produce/score the recent “Halloween” legacy sequel trilogy from David Gordon Green, which also brought back multiple veteran actors from that franchise like Jamie Lee Curtis. This is a different project altogether, though, and Carpenter proves to get only more ornery in his old age.
Of course, it’s fun to speculate what Radio Silence could cook up for a new “Escape From New York” movie. Russell recently worked with his son Wyatt Russell (“The Falcon & The Winter Soldier“) on the Apple TV+ series “Godzilla & The Titans,” so maybe Radio Silence could convince the pair to reunite on this legacy sequel. Then again, Wyatt doesn’t want to tread on his dad’s legacy, previously telling Esquire that it would be “career suicide 101.” So, for now, it’s “wait and see” when it comes to a new “Escape From New Yorker” movie. But, with any luck, Radio Silence finds someone to pen a script for them soon, and this project moves out of development hell.
