Escape From New York remake lands at Fox

There have been plans to remake John Carpenter’s Escape From New York for years. The most recent news, back in August last year, had Silver Pictures and StudioCanal planning on making a trilogy with either Charlie Hunnam, Jon Bernthal and Dan Stevens as Snake Plissken.

Whether you think it is a good or bad idea, it is bound to happen eventually and the rights have now landed over at Fox. John Carpenter will be an executive producer and will exert creative influence over the project.

There is no word on how the plot will change from the original. The Silver Pictures film was going to be more team-based, as Snake Plissken traverses through a treacherous New York landscape with a rogues gallery of criminals who look to leave the island-turned-prison in exchange for the rescue of the captured U.S. President.

They even had details on his team – Mina, a warzone journalist framed for murder and living in the shadows of New York as a scavenger; Cabbie, a schizophrenic travel guide who serves as comic relief; Gareth, the last surviving member of the President’s security detail who harbors a dangerous secret; and The Brain, Plissken’s former partner-in-crime who left him to die after a botched robbery. Snake’s past will be seen in brief glimpses throughout the film, blending into his reality via Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder.

As I say, there is nothing to say they will be going in that direction so we’ll just have to wait and see what happens.

The big question is, of course, who will play Snake? Should they go the obvious route and get a tough guy to play the role or would it be better if they mixed it up a bit and went with someone like Zoe Bell, Lena Headey or Emily Blunt?