UPDATE 9/1: The movie Morgan is texting about just moved to the front of the line — Snyder says Escape From New York is his next movie: “I’m working on it right now”.
The Snake Plissken derby just got its biggest name yet, and he is not waiting on an agent.
Appearing on Josh Horowitz’s Happy Sad Confused podcast on YouTube, the same sit-down where he confirmed Zack Snyder’s Flashpoint Batman plans and nearly playing Lobo, Jeffrey Dean Morgan revealed he hadjust read the announcement that Snyder is doing a new version of Escape from New York, and his reaction was immediate.
“Don’t think I’m not texting now or calling him. I am,” said Morgan.
“There’s Some Roles In There”
Morgan was realistic about the lead, admitting, “I think that Snake will probably be a little younger than I am,” before adding that there are some roles in there for him regardless.
Horowitz pushed back that fans want a grizzled Snake, and Morgan didn’t exactly fight him on it. “Grizzled Snake wouldn’t be bad, by the way,” said Morgan, calling the idea cool.
The actor said he plans to do his due diligence and stalk Snyder for a bit, calling Escape from New York one of his all-time favorite films. Horowitz suggested Morgan start wearing an eye patch around town and text Snyder selfies to workshop the look.
“I might. That’s not a bad idea,” said Morgan.
The Snake Derby Is Getting Crowded
Morgan is not the first to raise his hand.
As CBN covered when the project was announced, Frank Grillo volunteered in the comments of Snyder’s post within hours, while fans pushed Wyatt Russell and Henry Cavill for Snake Plissken.
Grillo brings the grit, Cavill brings the star power, Wyatt Russell brings the legacy. Morgan brings something none of them have: two decades of history with the director and a podcast mic to say it out loud.
Snyder’s Escape From New York
Snyder is attached to write and direct the reimagining of John Carpenter’s 1981 classic, with StudioCanal and The Picture Company behind the project, Carpenter on board as executive producer, and The Stone Quarry producing for a theatrical release.
Snyder’s take is expected to be more down and dirty, with practical effects and real locations, closer to his Dawn of the Dead than his superhero films. A grizzled Jeffrey Dean Morgan fits that brief better than almost any name in the derby so far.
And the history is real: the Comedian in Watchmen, Thomas Wayne in Batman v Superman, and the Flashpoint Batman that never got made. If anyone has earned the text back, it’s Morgan.
If Snyder texts back, you’ll read about it here.
