Legacy sequels are all the rage these days, with countless long-dormant properties being revived and resurrected, telling a new story designed to rebuild a franchise from the ground up, while recruiting a couple of familiar stars to provide some connective tissue.
As much as fans would love it to become a reality, it’s very unlikely that Kurt Russell will be donning the eye patch of Snake Plissken again. John Carpenter almost certainly won’t be stepping behind the camera having been out of the directorial business for over a decade, but the Escape from New York remake continues to try and escape from development hell.
It’s been in the works since 2007, with Gerard Butler and Josh Brolin both being linked with the iconic lead role, while Luther creator Neil Cross, Robert Rodriguez and Leigh Whannell have all signed on at various points. The latter remains attached, but we haven’t heard a peep from the project in well over a year, besides Kurt’s son Wyatt Russell admitting that it would be career suicide for him were he to step into his old man’s shoes as Snake.
In a new interview, Carpenter wouldn’t exactly confirm or deny what he does or doesn’t know about any new spin on Escape from New York, but he did admit his belief that there are potentially two more stories to tell with Russell Sr.’s Snake.
“He’s a character that Kurt is passionately fond of. He convinced me to do the sequel. There’s probably a third or maybe even fourth story about Snake. I don’t know if we’ll ever make it, but I think that he deserves it.”
As many of his recent performances have show, even at 70 years old Kurt Russell is more than capable of bringing his signature twinkly-eyed charm and gravitas to any role he plays, not to mention he’s still sporting an utterly fantastic head of hair for a man his age. If Whannell’s Escape from New York eventually gains real traction, there are worse ideas out there than a quick legacy cameo.
