Zack Snyder is taking a run at Escape from New York.
Snyder is set to write and direct a reimagining of John Carpenter’s 1981 dystopian action classic, with StudioCanal and The Picture Company behind the project.
Snyder also reacted to the news on Instagram with a simple “LFG,” so he’s clearly fired up about it.
Deadline confirms Snyder is attached to write and direct, with Zack Snyder, Deborah Snyder and Wesley Coller producing through Stone Quarry.
Carpenter is also involved as executive producer. The project is intended for a theatrical release.
Zack Snyder Takes On Snake Plissken
Escape from New York introduced Kurt Russell as S.D. “Snake” Plissken, the eyepatch-wearing ex-Special Forces soldier turned convict.
The original film is set in a future where Manhattan has been turned into a maximum-security prison. When the President crashes inside the prison city, Snake is forced to go in, rescue him, and survive the gangs, criminals, and chaos waiting inside.
The original grossed more than $50 million worldwide on a $6 million budget and later led to the 1996 sequel Escape from L.A.
Snyder Wants A “down and dirty” Escape From New York
THR first reported Snyder’s involvement and says his take is expected to be more “down and dirty,” with practical effects and real locations, closer to what he did with Dawn of the Dead than the slicker superhero style of Batman v Superman or Justice League.
Plot details are being kept quiet, so there is no word yet on who will play Snake Plissken or how close Snyder’s version will stick to Carpenter’s movie.
That hasn’t stopped the speculation. Frank Grillo has already said he wants in, while fans are pushing Henry Cavill and Wyatt Russell for Snake Plissken.
Snyder had big success right out of the gate with his 2004 Dawn of the Dead remake, which proved he could handle a beloved cult property without completely losing what made it work. He also adapted Watchmen, one of the most difficult comic book stories to bring to the screen.
Snyder’s Next Movie Is The Last Photograph
Snyder is currently in post-production on The Last Photograph, a drama about an ex-DEA operative and war photographer searching for missing children in South America.
The film reunites Snyder with Stuart Martin and Fra Fee, who appeared in his Rebel Moon movies for Netflix.
Snyder is also attached to the UFC movie, Brawler, and sources have filled us in that there is a plan to restore the SnyderVerse under Paramount-WBD.
