Zack Snyder set to remake John Carpenter's Escape from New York
- Brian Fanelli
- Jun 3
- 2 min read
Zack Snyder is no stranger to remakes. His first major film was 2004's Dawn of the Dead, a remake of George A. Romero's 1978 zombie classic. Now, Snyder is set to reimagine the work of another horror legend. This time, Snyder is tackling John Carpenter's iconic dystopian movie Escape from New York.
The Hollywood Reporter broke the news this week. According to their reporting, the project is in its initial stages and being put together, before it'll be taken out to the market in the coming weeks. This marks the first major steps of getting the remake made in the coming years. There are plans to release the film theatrically.
Additionally, The Picture Company partners Andrew Rona and Alex Heineman will produce the remake through their deal with StudioCanal. Along with Carpenter, the company controls the underlying rights to the initial film. Snyder also plans to produce the film, along with his Stone Quarry production company partners Deborah Snyder and Wesley Coller. The Hollywood Reporter also noted that Carpenter is involved with the project as an executive producer. It's likely he'll have some input about the film's direction and screenplay.
The initial movie was set in a dystopian future (1997) in which Manhattan had been turned into a massive security prison the size of an island. The president of the United States crashes lands into the decaying Big Apple with information that could change the world. This leads former military hero/outlaw/eye-patch wearing Snake Plissken to embark on a mission to rescue the man. Along the way, he faces gangs, the military, and ex-colleagues.
Kurt Russell starred as Plissken. The movie also featured Ernest Borgnine, Isaac hayes, Donald Pleasance, Harry Dean Stanton, and Adrienne Barbeau. Several of the actors, including Russell, Pleasance, and Barbeau, appeared in several other Carpenter films. Russell also starred in The Thing, while Pleasance played Dr. Loomis in Halloween and would later work with Carpenter on Prince of Darkness. Barbeau, meanwhile, had a role in The Fog.
Snyder's vision for the remake is unclear at this point, but The Hollywood Reporter did state that he wants to make a more "down and dirty movie," while using practical effects and locations, just like he did for the Dawn of the Dead remake. Various companies tried to remake the movie for years, but it never took off because of shifting rights. Carpenter directed a sequel to the movie, 1996's Escape from L.A.
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