Anyone out there who is feeling thoroughly fatigued by the number of remakes (or “reboots”) of popular, past cult favourites may be pleased to learn the Snake Plissken will not be making another rescue attempt to retrieve the president from a dystopian New York in the near future.
Deadline are reporting that current property holders New Line and Warner Bros have let the option run out on the Escape from New York remake they’ve been attempting to get off the ground, for what seems like almost as long as the original has been in existence.
Over the years we’ve heard various names like Gerard Butler and Jeremy Renner attached to play the part made famous by an eye patch-wearing Kurt Russell in John Carpenter’s 1981 classic. The story has also gone through many different guises, with Black Hawk Down scribe ken Nolan penning the first new version back in 2009. Breck (The Crazies) Eisner was the last director reportedly onboard, but even that role has seen the likes of Len Wiseman (currently embarking on the remake of another genre fave, Total recall) and T3’s Jonathan Mostow attached at various stages.
Many fans of the original will be rejoicing that the memory of another well-loved fantasy icon won’t run the risk of being sullied. It only remains to be seen if another studio will pick up the property, but given the prolonged struggle involved in trying to bring it back to the big screen so far, maybe it’s best if this film never has the chance to escape back onto the big screen again.
