Released in 1981, Escape From New York, written, directed and scored by legendary director John Carpenter (Halloween, The Thing, The Fog etc.) and starring Kurt Russell (The Thing, Soldier, Stargate, Big Trouble In Little China, Tango & Cash) is a cult classic, dystopian sci-fi action thriller. Set in 1997, former special forces operative Snake Plissken (Russell) is granted a pardon for his crimes (attempted grand theft of the US Federal Reserve) should he complete his mission; to infiltrate New York, now a maximum security prison, locate the wreckage of downed aircraft Air Force One and rescue the President of the United States.
Russells hard edged, darkly humored portrayal of eye-patched Plissken was an instant hit with many fans, most notably serving as inspiration for the protagonist in Hideo Kojimas hit 90's Playstation video game Metal Gear Solid. In 1996 a sequel, Escape From L.A., was released, though it is considered by many fans as a less favourable movie than the original.
Talk of a reboot has been around since 2007, with names like Gerard Butler (300, Gamer), Charlie Hunnam (Sons of Anarchy, Pacific Rim) and Jeremy Renner (American Hustle, Avengers) cited as possible stars and the likes of Len Wiseman (Underworld), Jonathan Mostow (Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines) and Brett Ratner (X-Men: The Last Stand) named as possible directors, but the project was utimately dropped. However, it was recently reported that 20th Century Fox have won a bid to the rights to the movie, which is to be produced by Andrew Rona (Sin City, Book of Eli) and Alex Heineman (Non Stop) of The Picture Company. A script has yet to be written and no one has been approached as-of-yet regards the cast. Though we feel that British action star Jason Statham would be ideally suited for the role, as shown below...
