New Escape From New York Movie Will Be a Sequel, Not a Reboot

Radio Silence, the creators behind the previously announced Escape From New York follow-up project, says the film will be a sequel, not a reboot.

Scream VI creators Tyler Gillett, Matt Bettinelli-Olpin, and Chad Villella are putting together another new take on a storied franchise with a follow-up to Escape From New York, with the trio confirming a continuation of the original film and not a reboot. John Carpenter’s 1981 classic starring Kurt Russell as Snake Plissken, a soldier-turned-criminal on a mission to rescue the President of the United States, became a pop-culture staple following its release and remains one of the most beloved action films ever made despite the 1996 sequel Escape From L.A. failing to meet the popularity of the original.

In an interview with Entertainment Weekly about Scream VI, the three filmmakers divulged more information about their upcoming project, clarifying that the film will be a sequel to Escape From New York and not a reboot of the film’s universe. Gillett shared his reverence for the 1981 film, comparing their plans to what they did with the Scream franchise.

“Not a remake. That’s one of those properties that you can’t [remake], it’s sort of untouchable to us, and lives in its own stratosphere in terms of how important it is to us, and how much we love it. So it’ll be not unlike Scream, I think, a nod to, and a continuation of, what we love about those characters and that world.”

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What We Know About The Escape From New York Sequel

Attempts have been made to recapture the magic of Escape From New York, but perhaps the only thing that can stand a chance of doing so is a faithful sequel. Before the trio’s filmmaking collective Radio Silence stepped in, numerous attempts had been made to bring the franchise back to life. Luther creator Neil Cross was tapped to write a reboot just two years after plans for a prequel trilogy were announced. In 2017, Robert Rodriguez was rumored to be taking the mantle. Three years later, in 2020, Leigh Whannell was the next to try. Of course, none of those projects came to fruition, but it appears as though this newest attempt is the strongest push to date.

Before the EW interview, not much information was public about the project. What was known was that Gillett, Bettinelli, and Villella were spearheading the production with Carpenter on board to executive produce. This new slew of information actually adds quite a bit of context to the trio’s plans. The decision to make it a sequel and not a complete reboot presents a lot of fun possibilities, perhaps even a return of Plissken, one of Kurt Russell’s most recognizable roles. The project is still in the early stages of development, though a script is not expected until early 2023.

Now that their work on Scream VI is coming to a close, Radio Silence has made it clear that their next focus will be on putting the fabled Escape From New York sequel together. Only time will tell if this is the sequel that will finally break through and enter further stages of development, but with hopes of a new addition to the franchise and not a full-on reset of the anti-hero’s original story, this is welcome news.

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Source: Entertainment Weekly