Charlie Hunnam, Jon Bernthal and Dan Stevens could be Snake Plissken

The remake / reboot of John Carpenter’s Escape From New York has been off and on for years (check out all of our coverage). Numerous actors have been attached to play the iconic role of Snake Plissken (who will always be Kurt Russell in my mind) yet none have stuck.

Things are on the move again with Silver Pictures and StudioCanal being inspired by the Batman: Arkham games and plans are for a trilogy. There is still no director attached, but they see the film as a “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.”

Plissken’s team consists of 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.

Some nods to the original with a fresh spin on things. I like the fact they are mixing things up a little to distinguish it from what has gone before.

The big question is, of course, who will be Snake.

The current short list is Charlie Hunnam (Pacific Rim, Sons of Anarchy), Jon Bernthal (The Walking Dead, The Wolf of Wall Street) and Dan Stevens (Downton Abbey, The Guest). Stevens is the big surprise for me, but his turn in The Guest is meant to be great.

Hunnam is the favourite, but his turns in Pacific Rim 2 and the fact he may be King Arthur in Guy Ritchie’s new film, could lead to scheduling problems.

I can’t really picture any of them in the role to be honest, but that could be due to the fact I like the original film so much. Kurt’s Snake Plissken is one of cinemas greatest Anti-Heroes and he would take some beating.

Who would you like to see play Snake?