Fox has hired Neil Cross, creator of the acclaimed BBC drama "Luther," to pen its remake of the cult classic "Escape From New York."

According to The Hollywood Reporter, the studio hopes the reboot will launch a hit franchise in the vein of "Planet of the Apes."

John Carpenter's 1981 original was set in a dystopian near-future 1997, where a crime-ridden United States had transformed Manhattan into a walled maximum-security prison. When Air Force One crashes following a hijacking, a former special forces operative turned convicted criminal Snake Plissken (Kurt Russell) is offered a pardon if he rescues the president of the United States — now held hostage — and retrieves a crucial cassette tape within 24 hours.

Russell reprised the role in 1996’s Escape From L.A., also directed by co-written by Carpenter.

Fox bought the film rights in January from StudioCanal, which had been developing the remake since at least 2010. Carpenter is involved with the project creatively, and will serve as an executive producer.

Although best known for the Idris Elba crime drama "Luther," Cross has made a couple of previous forays into film, co-writing 2013's "Mama" and serving as an uncredited script doctor on Guillermo del Toro's "Pacific Rim."