It’s been a few years since Robert Rodriguez was tapped to helm a remake of John Carpenter’s Escape From New York. That announcement followed news that broke in 2013 of its development at Fox and now, while still without a director, it hasn’t stopped the studio from bringing people aboard to help bring the new revisal to life.
Enter Upgrade helmer Leigh Whannell whose work as a respective producer and director on select installments of the Insidious and Saw horror franchises have made a name for him in the last decade or so. Whannell is now next in line to pen the script after Neil Cross, a move in which he’s looking toward a fresher mix of both the original elements and new ideas instead of hampering it with the usual tropes that crippled the Robocop and Total Recall reboots.
Starring Kurt Russell, the original 1981 cult classic set our story in 1997 when our protagonist, Snake, goes on a mission to rescue the President whose chopper crashes in New York City’s borough of Manhattan – now outfitted as its own maximum security prison. The film went on to gross more than $25 million dollars after its theatrical release prior to Russell later reprising his role in the sequel, Escape From L.A. in 1996, which flopped at the box office. Both films were directed by Carpenter.
Andrew Rona and Alex Heineman are producing with Carpenter exec producing. Whannell is also on the hook to help resusitate one of Universal’s Monster Legacy titles with a revival of The Invisible Man. (THR/Heat Vision)