ESCAPE FROM NEW YORK Remake Back On

Get ready to call him “Snake” again… Vulture is reporting that the Escape From New York remake is back on again at New Line. Allan Loeb has penned the script which apparently captures the essence of John Carpenter’s 1981 classic, while making some minor changes to the story.

In this reboot, Manhattan is still recognizable, a converted penal colony. This time around there is no World War III factor, and Snake Plissken is dropped into Manhattan not to save the President, but a female Senator. Whether the idea of an Escape remake infuriates you or not, take solace in the fact that legally, the Snake Plissken character can’t be fucked with too much. Part of the deal New Line has with John Carpenter, is that they cannot mess with certain elements of the character. Apparently, Snake must be called “Snake”, he must wear an eye-patch, and he must “always be a ‘bad-ass’”.

This isn’t the first time New Line’s taken the Escape remake for a spin. A couple of years ago Len Weisman (Live Free or Die Hard) as developing the remake, with actor Gerard Butler almost signed to the role of Snake. Before the film was ditched, Weisman was replaced with Brett Ratner (X-Men: The Last Stand) and thankfully, that was that. I actually read a pretty thorough review of that script which, although shaky, was kind of fun. It took the property into farther-out-there territory, having Snake fight above the city in a hot air balloon literally shaped like a sperm, and ultimately fighting his clone in the grand finale. I think we can all be thankful that it went the way of the dodo.

That’s all the infor known on this reboot for now. New Line apparently wants to fast-track the remake, so who knows – we may be seeing some more details emerge sooner rather than later.

What say you, dear reader – Escape remake: yay or nay?