After the massive success of last year’s “Halloween,” it would appear that filmmaker John Carpenter is much more interested in reboots and sequels than he has been in the past. And since his classic slasher franchise seems to be on the right path again, it’s time for his sci-fi/action classic “Escape from New York” to get similar treatment.
According to a new report from THR, Fox has signed “Upgrade” filmmaker Leigh Whannell to write the script (and perhaps direct) a reboot of “Escape from New York.” The 1981 film, directed by Carpenter and starring Kurt Russell, was set in the far future (1997) where the island of Manhattan was turned into a war zone and de facto maximum security prison. When the President of the United States crash lands on the island, the government hires the badass Snake Plissken to venture into the city and rescue the POTUS.
The original film became an instant classic and launched a million copycats. There was also a mid-90s sequel set in the post-apocalyptic Los Angeles but it failed to catch on like the original.
Whannell was recently in the news as he has been tapped to write and direct “The Invisible Man” for Blumhouse/Universal. As of now, he’s just writing the script for ‘Escape,’ but the report says the option may be there for him to helm the picture, as well. So, we’ll just have to wait and see how Fox reacts to his script.
As mentioned above, this isn’t the first franchise from Carpenter to get the reboot treatment. And the filmmaker is perfectly okay with that. In a particularly candid interview last year, while “Halloween” was on the brink of being released, Carpenter was asked if he was okay with his films getting remade. “I don’t know. Let’s see the next proposal. I can’t do a blanket kind of, ‘Oh, okay. Yes, I’ll do that.’ I don’t know, but I’m up for almost anything that involves money. That’s a nice thing. It’s always nice,” Carpenter said.
Well, it would appear that the money is right for this “Escape from New York” reboot, as the report says that Carpenter is on board as a producer, which is probably similar to the role he had on “Halloween.”