Zack Snyder Is On Board To Direct ‘Escape From New York’ Reimagining

We got news at CinemaCon 2026 about a reimagining of John Carpenter’s classic film Escape From New York. Well, now we have some gigantic news about the upcoming film. THR is reporting that Zack Snyder is on board to direct the film from StudioCanal. The filmmaker behind 300 and Justice League is also writing the film in addition to directing it. The feature is being put together and go out to market for bidders. The intent is to put the film out theatrically.

Andrew Rona and Alex Heineman will produce the film through their deal with StudioCanal, who controls the rights to the property along with John Carpenter. Snyder will produce with his parters Deborah Snyder and Wesley Coller with their company Stone Quarry. John Carpenter is involved with the production as an executive producer.

The original film came out in 1981 and introduced the world to Snake Plissken, the eyepatch-wearing badass played by Kurt Russell. It was set in 1997 and told a story about how New York City had been turned into a maximum security prison for the worst offenders. If you went there, you didn’t come out. The President of the United States, on a mission for diplomacy, has their plane highjacked and it crashes on the island. Snake Plissken is called in to get the President out before a key moment in a meeting between world leaders. Plissken has to face gangs, crazed convicts, and more on the island but gets help from some old friends and those who know his reputation.

The 1981 film was followed up by the 1996 sequel, Escape From L.A.

As for what Snyder has in store for the film is under wraps, but it’s said he wants a more down and dirty movie.

The THS Take – Apprehensive Is A Word

Look, Escape From New York is a seminal classic of the action genre. It was one of the first movies that made me fall in love with movies. I had the PSP version of the film on UMD and watched that more times than I can count. John Carpenter’s original film is a stone cold classic, so updating it or reimagining it, is a tough task. I’m not a superfan of Zack Snyder‘s by any means, but he’s a good action and horror director. Even without the DC stuff he’s done, his track record is good with films like Dawn of the Dead, Army of the Dead, and 300.

So first off, they better absolutely nail the casting for Snake Plissken, that’s the most important thing here. Matching Kurt Russell is going to be impossible. Who knows who would be able to step into those shoes and wear the eyepatch, but the world is watching. Otherwise, I’m slightly optimistic about this reimagining. Obviously, you’d rather have new and original films being made, especially in the action genre, but StudioCanal really wants to push itself into the blockbuster film category as a studio, so this is a natural starting point.

This news comes on the heels of plenty of other reimaginings of the film being announced in the past, but none have really gotten as far as this one looks. We’ll really have to see how this news develops and whether or not that changes the tune. I’m apprehensive about this currently, but that could very easily change. Snyder has the ability to make a great Escape From New York film, we’ll just have to see how he fares.

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Source: The Hollywood Reporter