As long as there is a property to exploit, Hollywood will keeping trying, and one they’ve been trying to crack the nut on for years is John Carpenter‘s “Escape From New York.” Len Wiseman, Brett Ratner, Jonathan Mostow, Gerard Butler and Josh Brolin have all been rumored as potential directors and stars, and in 2010 some traction seemed to build around an iteration supposedly approved by Carpenter, with Breck Eisner (“Sahara,” “The Crazies“) signed on to the flick that Allan Loeb (“The Switch,” “The Dilemma“) and Jamie Moss (“X-Men: First Class“) would write. In 2011, New Line eventually threw in the towel, but someone is now picking up the ball.
Mega producer Joel Silver (“The Matrix,” “Sherlock Holmes,” “Lethal Weapon“) is taking his Silver Pictures shingle and teaming up with French powerhouse Studio Canal for a remake. Oh, and not just that, they want to do a trilogy. Yep, that want Snake Plissken to be a hero for a new generation, and they are seeking a writer for “an entirely new take on the material.” We guess anyone is better than Loeb, but the question is why do a remake if you’re just gonna keep the title? And while New York was followed by the lesser “Escape From L.A.” fifteen years later, there’s no word yet on where these three movies may go. It probably doesn’t matter and isn’t worth it to get too upset or surprised, but this is all very early stages and who knows if it will ever make it to the screen. The scattered history suggets it hasn’t been easy.
The two production companies are already working together on the Liam Neeson actioner “Non-Stop,” and the Sean Penn vehicle “Prone Gunman.” And if those titles are anything to go by, we could be in for a lean new ‘Escape,’ though not necessarily a smart one. [Deadline]