Escape From New York Sequel/Reboot on the Way
Another major metropolis is about to be turned into a giant prison from which only one man can escape. First, Giant Freakin’ Robot exclusively reported that their sources informed them Matt Bettinelli-Olpin, Tyler Gillett, and Chad Villella – collectively known as Radio Silence – will direct a sequel to John Carpenter’s Escape from New York and Escape from L.A. and that Kurt Russell will return as series hero Snake Plissken. Then, Bloody Disgusting claimed that their sources told them Radio Silence is in talks with 20th Century Studios to make another Escape movie, but so far, Kurt Russell is not involved, and there isn’t even a script. Bloody Disgusting stresses that these are early talks, however, and Russell could jump in later, or the deal could not happen at all. Finally, Deadline further reports that Radio Silence is officially on board, the film will be a reboot, and John Carpenter will be an executive producer; this would indicate that Russell won’t be back, or at least not as Snake Plissken. Whew!
Okay, this may get me put in movie jail, but I’m not an Escape from New York fan. I’ve watched it a few times and can’t get into it. It’s dull, and Snake is a flat, one-dimensional character whose Man With No Name shtick doesn’t work because there’s so little behind it besides trying to fit a “type.” (They even put him up against Lee Van Cleaf to make this point!) My opinion is close to Mike’s on this episode of “re:View,” except when he says he hates Assault on Precinct 13, which is an awesome movie. I never saw Escape from L.A. because even people who love Escape from New York don’t like that one (aside from RazörFist). But I like the concept and think it could be cool, so I’d be up for another one. However, I don’t trust Radio Silence after they destroyed the Scream franchise; I can only assume their concept has about three minutes of Kurt Russell and a bunch of Snake Plissken admirers as the villains. And Carpenter’s involvement means little because he’s gone on record saying he loves collecting checks from remakes and sequels to his old movies. But this looks like the closest they’ve come to doing something with the franchise, despite trying to get a new one off the ground for years.
Do you want another Escape from New York? Are the Radio Silence guys the right ones to do it? Does the idea of a major American city as a hellhole ruled by criminals count as science fiction anymore? Let us know in the comments, and stay tuned to Geeks + Gamers for more old things that are becoming new again!
