John Carpenter Addresses the Reboot of Escape From New York and Possible Involvement

Filmmaker John Carpenter has delivered audiences dozens of compelling stories, many of which have so much narrative potential that they are reimagined or rebooted for new generations, often without his own involvement. In recent years, a number of reports have emerged about his 1981 film Escape from New York being the next in line to be remade, potentially reinventing Kurt Russell’s iconic Snake Plissken for an all-new dystopic adventure. While Carpenter himself didn’t have any official updates on the potential remake, he recently shared some thoughts on the magic of Snake Plissken and whether or not he could potentially be involved. The original film’s sequel, Escape from L.A., hits 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray on February 22nd.

When discussing with ComicBook.com if there have been any legitimate talks of a sequel in the proper franchise, Carpenter joked, “Nothing that Kurt and I do is legitimate. It’s all illegitimate. No, not seriously [discussed a sequel]. No. I know that there’s a couple guys over at 20th Century Fox who are working on a reboot of this whole thing, and they’ve got a director, I’m not sure who it is, but maybe you know.”

Recent reports about the project claim that The Invisible Man director Leigh Whannell is attached to write the remake. 

Back in 2018, Carpenter returned to the Halloween franchise almost 40 years after having any direct involvement in the series, to both produce and write the score. As far as whether he could take a similar involvement in an Escape from New York reboot, the filmmaker noted, “Yeah, if you have a monetary figure involved. Sure, absolutely.”

Given how iconic Russell was as Snake, it’s a tall order for any actor to take over that mantle. Some fans have even expressed their hopes that Kurt’s son Wyatt Russell could follow in his father’s footsteps, though Wyatt has shot down any chance of that happening. 

“He’s really good, Wyatt is really good, but it’s up to him and up to Kurt. I don’t know what they’re going to do. They may even go for a female,” Carpenter shared of what the future could hold for Snake. When pressed for suggestions on other actors that could take on the role, the filmmaker confessed, “There’s nobody like Kurt, and there’s nobody like Snake, male or female.”

As fans wait for updates on a possible Escape from New York reboot, they can check out Escape from L.A. on 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray.

Released in 1996, John Carpenter’s Escape from L.A. was the highly anticipated follow-up to the fan-favorite hit Escape from New York. Kurt Russell returns as anti-hero Snake Plissken, who is called upon to save the world from a doomsday device after a 9.6 quake levels most of Los Angeles.  

Stay tuned for updates on the Escape from New York reboot and grab Escape from L.A. on 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray on February 22nd.

Would you like to see Carpenter involved in the reboot? Let us know in the comments below or contact Patrick Cavanaugh directly on Twitter to talk all things Star Wars and horror!