Escape From New York Sequel On The Way From Scream Directors, Our Scoop Confirmed
Confirming a Giant Freakin Robot exclusive, an Escape From New York sequel is in the works from Matt Bettinelli-Olpin, Tyler Gillett, and Chad Villella.
Radio Silence, the directing team behind the latest Scream reboots, is taking on another popular property. Giant Freakin Robot reported yesterday that a sequel to Escape from New York is in the works from the Radio Silence trio, and this has been confirmed by the trades. The film is being made with the blessing of series creator John Carpenter and Kurt Russell is also signed on to reprise his role as the franchise’s antihero, Snake Plisken.
Radio Silence is led by Matt Bettinelli-Olpin, Tyler Gillett, and Chad Villella, and has made its mark in the horror genre with films like the VHS series, the anthology Southbound, and the critically acclaimed Ready or Not.
They took on the Scream franchise in 2022, reinventing the slasher series by infusing its subversive theme with commentary on today’s popular “elevated horror” subgenre, and the success of that film foretells what they can do with a franchise like Escape from New York. Another sequel to the Scream franchise, called Scream 6 or Scream !!, is being released by the collective in 2023.
Escape from New York was created by John Carpenter of Halloween and The Thing fame, and the first movie was released in 1981. For Kurt Russell, it was a reinvention of his Hollywood persona as he matured from a Disney child star to adult action films. The sci-fi action adventure follows Russell’s Snake Plisken character as he is dropped into the city, now a maximum security prison, to rescue the President after the latter crash-lands there.
A sequel, called Escape from L.A., was released in 1996 and took Snake Plisken to a City of Angels that became an island after a giant earthquake floods the San Fernando Valley. In this Escape from New York sequel, Snake must locate the detonator for a powerful superweapon capable of destroying the functioning of all the electronic devices in the world. Snake has enemies on all sides as he is forced to complete the task by a dystopian theocratic government.
There is no word yet about what the sequel is about, and Radio Silence is still looking for a writer to pen the script. But there have been rumors about what another Escape from New York movie would look like. Previously, there was speculation about an Escape from Earth movie that follows Snake Plisken in the aftermath of his escape from Los Angeles. However, it is not confirmed if this is the plot Radio Silence will be working with.
John Carpenter is set to executive produce the Escape from New York sequel but is perfectly content with allowing Radio Silence to handle the rest of the details. Although he is known for classic sci-fi and horror films such as The Thing, They Live!, and Big Trouble in Little China, he has almost twice as many writing credits as he does directing and is known more for his appearances as an icon of the genre.
He and Kurt Russell have worked together several times on various films, and his influence on Radio Silence’s work can be seen in their style and subject matter.
With John Carpenter and Kurt Russell onboard and the brilliant direction we’ve already seen from Radio Silence on other projects, this Escape from New York sequel already sounds exciting.
