The Radio Silence directing team, Tyler Gillett and Matt Bettinelli-Olpin (Ready or Not, Abigail, Scream), were also set to helm a reboot of the John Carpenter classic Escape From New York.
According to ComicBook, the filmmakers have exited the project. The reason they left is because of the “limited timelines and rights issues to move forward on that project, along with their own schedules, that saw the timeframe close for possibly jumping onto the revival.”
Gillett confirmed the news in a statement: “We are not, unfortunately. I think titles like that bounce around for a while and I think they’ve tried to get that out of the blocks a few times. I think it’s just ultimately a tricky rights issue thing.
He added: “There’s a clock on it and we just weren’t in a position to make the clock, ultimately. But who knows? I think, in hindsight, it feels crazy that we would think we would, post-Scream, step into a John Carpenter franchise.”
The filmmaker added: “You never know. There’s still interest in it and we’ve had a few conversations about it but we’re not attached in any official capacity.”
Escape From New York shouldn’t really be remade anyway, but that won’t stop Hollywood from moving forward with it. I’m sure they will find another filmmaker to take it on. It will just delay things a little longer.
In the original film’s story, a major war between the United States and the Soviet Union is concluding, and the entire island of Manhattan has been converted into a giant maximum security prison.
When Air Force One is hijacked and crashes into the island, the president (Donald Pleasence) is taken hostage by a group of inmates.
Snake Plissken (Kurt Russell), a former Special Forces soldier turned criminal, is recruited to retrieve the president in exchange for his own freedom.