Fox to Remake John Carpenter’s ‘Escape From New York’

Kurt Russell starred as Snake Plissken in the original dystopian action film

Escape From New York
AVCO Embassy Pictures

Twentieth Century Fox has obtained the rights to John Carpenter‘s 1981 cult-classic “Escape From New York” and intends to remake the film, a spokesperson for the studio told TheWrap Tuesday.

Kurt Russell starred as the iconic one-eyed anti-hero Snake Plissken in the original Dystopian action film, released by Avco Embassy in 1981. Studiocanal owned the rights to the film, which had several suitors, and was won by Fox’s Mike Ireland on the back of the studio’s competitive bid.

Carpenter, who also directed classics including “Halloween” and “Assault on Precinct 13,” will serve as an executive producer on the remake, with Andrew Rona and Alex Heineman’s The Picture Company also producing.

Set 16 years in the future, the original “Escape From New York” imagined Manhattan after it had been turned into a maximum security prison. When the U.S. President’s plane crashes on the island, Plissken — a hardened, wise-cracking criminal — is tasked with bringing the Commander-in-Chief home safely. Carpenter directed the film and co-wote with Nick Castle. Ernest Borgnine, Isaac Hayes, Harry Dean Stanton, Lee Van Cleef and Adrienne Barbeau co-starred.

Russell returned as Plissken in Carpenter’s 1996 follow-up “Escape From L.A.,” which basically recycled the plot but set it on a different coast. The sequel was received with far less enthusiasm than the original.

Deadline first reported the acquisition.

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