Wolf Man Director Addresses Possibly Reviving His Escape From New York Reboot

Rumors of John Carpenter’s 1981 Escape from New York have swirled for years, though there’s never been enough substantial momentum for the project to come to fruition. One filmmaker who was previously attached was Wolf Man director Leigh Whannell, who had also previously been attached to the Universal Monster reboot, which he parted ways with and ultimately returned to. Given this trend, fans have wondered if Whannell could return to Escape from New York, though the filmmaker recently cast doubt on that project coming together. Wolf Man lands in theaters on January 17th.

“It’s so funny, with the movie industry, projects can die for various reasons. It can be something as simple as, ‘Oh, we lost the rights,’ it could be something like I’m just not gelling with the producers,” Whannell shared with ComicBook in support of Wolf Man about whether his Escape from New York could be revived. “I feel like the projects that do come to life are almost accidents. Like, ‘Oh, this one actually happened.’ So I think, for now, Escape from New York, if it came back around, I’d think about it, but for now, it’s not happening.”

Reports of Whannell developing an Escape from New York go back to 2019, but in the years since those plans emerged, Hollywood has dealt with struggles like the coronavirus pandemic and the 2023 writers’ and actors’ strikes. After an extended period without any substantial updates, Radio Silence, the filmmaking collective responsible for the two recent Scream sequels and Abigail, was announced as being involved in the reboot. Directors Tyler Gillett and Matt Bettinelli-Olpin were revealed to be attached to the project in 2022, but last year they confirmed that they had eventually parted ways from the reboot.

When asked by ComicBook in May 2024 if the duo was still developing the project, Gillett confirmed, “We are not, unfortunately. I think titles like that bounce around for a while and I think they’ve tried to get that out of the blocks a few times. I think it’s just ultimately a tricky rights issue thing. There’s a clock on it and we just weren’t in a position to make the clock, ultimately. But who knows? I think, in hindsight, it feels crazy that we would think we would, post-Scream, step into a John Carpenter franchise. You never know. There’s still interest in it and we’ve had a few conversations about it but we’re not attached in any official capacity.”

Reports of a new take on the concept have kicked around for years, with filmmaker Robert Rodriguez also having been rumored to be working on a new iteration of the storyline. It’s currently unknown when, or if, a new filmmaker could emerge to tackle the material.

[RELATED – Escape From New York Reboot Loses Radio Silence Filmmakers (Exclusive)]

As fans wait for any updates on a new Escape from New York, they can check out Whannell’s Wolf Man.

Wolf Man is described, “What if someone you loved became something else? From Blumhouse and visionary writer-director Leigh Whannell, the creators of the chilling modern monster tale The Invisible Man, comes a terrifying new lupine nightmare: Wolf Man. Golden Globe nominee Christopher Abbott (Poor Things, It Comes at Night) stars as Blake, a San Francisco husband and father, who inherits his remote childhood home in rural Oregon after his own father vanishes and is presumed dead. With his marriage to his high-powered wife, Charlotte (Emmy winner Julia Garner; Ozark, Inventing Anna), fraying, Blake persuades Charlotte to take a break from the city and visit the property with their young daughter, Ginger (Matlida Firth; Hullraisers, Coma).

“But as the family approaches the farmhouse in the dead of night, they’re attacked by an unseen animal and, in a desperate escape, barricade themselves inside the home as the creature prowls the perimeter. As the night stretches on, however, Blake begins to behave strangely, transforming into something unrecognizable, and Charlotte will be forced to decide whether the terror within their house is more lethal than the danger without. The film co-stars Sam Jaeger (The Handmaid’s Tale), Ben Prendergast (The Sojourn Audio Drama), and Benedict Hardie (The Invisible Man).”

Stay tuned for updates on a new Escape from New York. See Wolf Man when it lands in theaters on January 17th.

Are you hoping we get an Escape from New York reboot? Contact Patrick Cavanaugh directly on Twitter or on Instagram to talk all things Star Wars and horror!