An Escape From New York Remake Is In The Works

CBR

Saw co-creator Leigh Whannell is signed on to write the remake of the John Carpenter classic Escape From New York.

A remake of John Carpenter's Escape From New York is in the works at Fox, with Australian filmmaker Leigh Whannell poised to write the script.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, there's currently no director set for the Escape From New York remake, but there's a possibility Whannell himself might step behind the camera for the movie. Carpenter is set to executive produce the film, which does not currently have a release date. There is no casting information currently available for the Escape From New York remake.

Sources say Whannell's Escape From New York script is aiming to avoid the missteps of earlier ‘80s action film remakes, such as RoboCop and Total Recall, both of which were poorly received.

Whannell is one of the co-creators of Saw, in which he also starred. Since then, Whannell has racked up a number of writing and directing credits. His works include films in the Insidious franchise and last year’s sci-fi thriller Upgrade. He also had a cameo role in Aquaman, which was directed by fellow Saw co-creator James Wan. The news comes shortly after the announcement that Whannell will direct The Invisible Man for Universal and Blumhouse.

This is just the latest attempt at an Escape From New York reboot. A previous attempt had Luther co-creator Neil Cross attached write, with Alita: Battle Angel's Robert Rodriguez directing. However, that project never came to fruition.

Written, directed and scored by John Carpenter, 1981's Escape From New York followed Snake Plissken, an incarcerated soldier given 24 hours to infiltrate the ruins of New York and save the President of the United States from terrorists. The character would become one of Kurt Russell’s most iconic characters, and has remained a pop culture staple for years. The movie proved popular enough to warrant a 1996 sequel, Escape From L.A., which failed to impress at the box office, leaving the franchise dormant.

The renewed interest in Escape From New York may be related to the success of last year’s Halloween, itself a sequel to an existing John Carpenter film.