There’s only one John Carpenter and there’s only one Kurt Russell, but for some reason, Zack Snyder doesn’t necessarily think that’s the case, as he’s developing a remake of Escape from New York. This isn’t the first time the filmmaker has attempted to revive a seminal genre movie, as he previously directed a remake of George A. Romero‘s Dawn of the Dead back in 2004.
When word of this remake was first announced, there was immediate speculation about how Snyder would tackle the dystopian themes of the source material, especially in our current political climate, and we also couldn’t help but wonder who would play Snake Plissken.
After the project was announced earlier this year, Snyder himself is finally opening up about his approach to the material. In a wide-ranging conversation with the Happy Sad Confused podcast, the filmmaker explained his take on the story.
“The movie is going to be set in’97, from the perspective of 1981,” Snyder confirmed. “I set the movie [in] the war between the United States Police Force and the elements, criminal elements. [It] takes place, I think, July 9th, 1981, which is the release date of the original movie … The rest is pretty much Escape from New York.”
He added, “Talk about a movie that’s the perfect combination of kitsch and camp. It’s all the things, that’s why I love it. But also, it’s [in] a way that’s satire and can get to us. We can make comments about government and all the overreach or whatever you want to call it, the People’s Liberation Front of America, all that stuff is very … That’s in the headlines. It’s quite current, in some ways.”
Given the inherent concept of Escape from New York and Escape from L.A., along with the countless other movies that take place in a dystopia that we’ve seen over the years, these comments from Zack Snyder don’t entirely surprise us. It comes as a relief, though, that it doesn’t seem like he will attempt to entirely reinvent the idea. Arguably much more important than any narrative details, though, is who will take the reins as Snake Plissken.
With a variety of filmmakers being attached to the project over the years, from Robert Rodriguez to Leigh Whannell to the folks of Radio Silence, everyone is most curious about an actor who could embody the role. Some have even pitched Kurt Russell’s son Wyatt Russell become the new Snake, but the actor himself has shot down that likelihood.
When asked if Snyder has an actor in mind for Snake, he confirmed, “I may,” and when pressed for more details on if it’s an actor he has worked with before, he rebuked, “I’m not going to say.”
Keeping in line with this being a straightforward remake, Snyder detailed, “He better look like Snake, or I’ll walk out.”
On the one hand, it’s a relief that Snyder isn’t attempting to do a reimagining of the idea that is a major departure from the source material, but on the other hand, being so faithful to the original begs the question of why he’s remaking it in the first place.
Are you looking forward to the remake? Let us know in the comments below!