By If it happened in the 80s we need a new one of it now seems to be the mantra of Hollywood at the moment. Next up for “revival” is Escape From New York and everyone’s favorite badass, Snake Pliskken. Joel Silver and Studio Canal will be picking up the franchise (which is what we’ll call it despite not wanting to remember Escape From L.A.) and rebooting it into a trilogy that will kick off with an origin story about Snake. The goal is to have an entirely new take on the material.
Those might have been three of the most worrying sentences I’ve ever typed. First off the Silver/Studio Canal team up has delivered us almost nothing but crap (Unknown for instance). Secondly, a character origin story is probably the dumbest idea on earth for Snake since his mysteriousness is what makes him a badass. Thirdly, if the goal is to have a new take and it’s an origin story it doesn’t sound like too much actual escaping is going to go on. More like arresting and eye-losing and non-escape things.
Maybe all those things will turn out fine, but this is just one of those roles that’s defined by the man who played it. Kurt Russell is Snake and he’s the only one that should be.
[Deadline, via Badass Digest]