Credit: Escape from New York
Ready for your favorite eye-patch ass-kicker to return to the screen? If you said yes then celebrate this joyous occasion since John Carpenter’s Escape from New York is getting the reboot treatment, according to Deadline. Sorry, I probably should’ve held off on the joyous part, as this is just another cash grab from Tinseltown. However, Radio Silence, which consists of filmmakers Matt Bettinelli-Olpin, Tyler Gillett, and Chad Villelle will be the creative force behind the feature. John Carpenter will serve as an executive producer.
Radio Silence has been on a roll as of late, with Matt and Tyler coming off the success of the recent Scream reboot, which consisted of Neve Campbell, Courtney Cox, David Arquette, Jenna Ortega, and Dylan Minnette. Despite being the fifth entry of the franchise, Scream (which is really just Scream 5) came out with mostly positive reviews and made $140 million worldwide. The directing duo will make their return to the sixth feature with Hayden Panettiere confirmed to make her return, though Neve Campbell will not make come back for the first time in the franchise’s history (minus the television show).
Credit: Escape from New York
That stems from a pay issue between Campbell and the studio, though if I’m being honest, the actress felt forced in the latest feature. Sidney Prescott will always be a horror iconic when it comes to final girls, but her story pretty much ended in Scream 3, and though there are some avenues to explore with the actress, it was clear in Scream that the franchise has no desire to continue forward with her character as the main protagonist. As far as the Escape to New York reboot, it’s pretty much the same song and dance here. Like so many films, Escape from New York was the perfect movie of its time. For those of you who’ve yet to see the 1981 classic, here’s the synopsis of the original feature:
In 1997, a major war between the United States and the Soviet Union is concluding, and the entire island of Manhattan has been converted into a giant maximum security prison. When Air Force One is hijacked and crashes into the island, the president (Donald Pleasence) is taken hostage by a group of inmates. Snake Plissken (Kurt Russell), a former Special Forces solider turned criminal, is recruited to retrieve the president in change for his own freedom.
Credit: Escape from New York
The John Carpenter film was a critical darling but not much of a box office draw. Granted, Escape from New York was only made for $6 million and got back a return of $25.2 million, tripling its profits; however, that’s not particularly a number that lights the box office on fire. Its sequel, Escape from LA, had a $50 million budget and bombed by collecting only $25.5 million at the box office. Escape from LA didn’t garner the great reviews the first film did and ultimately tanked a potential franchise. There’s no word on who’s in talks to play the lead this time around, nor are there any potential actors in the running for said reboot. While anything is possible, it’s highly unlikely that Kurt Russell will make a cameo for the upcoming reboot. The report never confirms that Russell turned down an opportunity to star in the film; however, the 72-year-old retired in 2021, with his final film being The Christmas Chronicles 2.
Currently, the studio is searching for a set of writers to pen the reboot. Of course, the biggest change will be that the dystopian film won’t take place in futuristic 1997, but other details of the upcoming film have not been confirmed. John Carpenter is a legendary name in the film industry, but an Escape from New York reboot feels pointless, just like 99.8% of remakes that come out in modern Hollywood. However, this doesn’t mean that something great can’t come out of the rehashed version.
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