After much wheeling and dealing and competitive bidding, Fox has emerged victorious as they closed a deal to begin a remake of ‘Escape from New York,’ the cult-classic 1981 John Carpenter film. Aside from Fox’s involvement (in the form of Mike Ireland, the man responsible for bringing the project to the studio), the movie will be produced by Andrew Rona and Alex Heineman’s “The Picture Company,” with Carpenter returning as an executive producer (who sources say will maintain a lot of creative influence on the project).
The original ‘Escape from New York’ was a gritty response to the Watergate Scandal, set in the “future” of 1997, a time when New York is turned into a maximum security island prison. It starred Kurt Russell as Snake Plissken, a one-time special forces operative imprisoned after an attempt to rob the federal reserve. In the movie, Air Force One crashes into the depths of New York, bearing the President and a tape that holds the key to preventing WWIII, as both were enroute to an important summit. The government decides to send Plissken in to save the day, giving him 22 hours to get the job done before he is terminated by the explosives they’ve hardwired onto him.
Over the past year there have a been a lot of rumors about a remake, with ideas thrown around about who they would get to replace Russell, with many contending that ‘Sons of Anarchy’ star Charlie Hunnan would be a good choice, while others were hoping to see the likes of Chris Hemsworth in the role. However, since the rights were just given to Fox, it seems pretty clear they are not even close to casting yet, so I would not be putting money on either of those actors just yet.
For now, its good to know that the rights have been decided and that Carpenter is onboard to help steer the new team in the right direction.
Source: Deadline
