Snake Plissken is returning to Manhattan, but this time he’s getting some help from Zack Snyder.
On June 1, 2026, news broke that Snyder is set to write and direct a new reimagining of John Carpenter’s 1981 cult classic, Escape from New York. But while it was news to the public, apparently StudioCanal already announced the project at CinemaCon back in April.
And while the news might terrify Carpenter’s fans, the good news is that he’ll be actively involved with the project as executive producer. It probably also means the film will get his stamp of approval, even if Snyder decides to deconstruct the film’s hero as he did with the DCEU universe.
Snyder has received plenty of criticism over the years for reimagining popular characters for the DCEU audience. Superman questioned his place on the planet and whether or not he was meant to be a hero. Batman took vengeance so far that he actually became the type of monster that he fought against. Wonder Woman tried to stay clear of interfering with the world after losing someone she loved during World War II. These weren’t the comic book takes of the characters. They were modernized and reinvented for the screen. And not everyone was happy about that.
Will Snyder’s Escape from New York be more of his off-brand takes on popular characters? We don’t know yet. What we do know is that the film is intended for theatrical release, which is already a step in the right direction, considering his last four features went straight to streaming. The Rebel Moon duology was strictly a Netflix release, and Zack Snyder’s Justice League went straight to HBO Max.
The original Escape from New York was released in 1981 and cost just $6 million to make. That small-budget film went on to make $50 million worldwide and became a classic. Kurt Russell played S.D. “Snake” Plissken, an eyepatch-wearing Special Forces veteran who became a convict in order to rescue the U.S. President from a maximum security prison in Manhattan. A sequel, Escape from L.A., followed in 1996.
Hollywood has been attempting to reboot the franchise since 2007, when New Line Cinema first purchased the rights. Over the years, there have been many names attached to the project, including Len Wiseman, Brett Ratner, and Robert Rodriguez. Gerard Butler, the lead in Snyder’s 300, was also once in talks to star in a planned reboot. That didn’t happen.
While he’s probably too old to play the character now, no casting for Snyder’s Escape from New York has been announced yet. But within hours of the announcement, and Snyder posting “LFG” on Instagram alongside the Deadline announcement, Frank Grillo put his name forward for a role. He shared three boxing-glove emojis on the post from his verified account with the words: “I wan’t i’m”, which was obviously meant to be “I want in.”
While Grillo hasn’t worked with Snyder before, it’s easy to see him fit into the film. He’s certainly got the action pedigree to pull off any character he’s offered. Plus, he does his own stunts, and he’s got that toughness Snyder usually likes in actors. He also just wrapped Man of Tomorrow opposite David Corenswet and Nicholas Hoult, playing Rick Flag Sr. for James Gunn’s DC Studios. So he’s free right now.
But fans are already pushing for two other names to join the project: Henry Cavill, who played Superman in Snyder’s Man of Steel, Batman v Superman, and Zack Snyder’s Justice League, and Wyatt Russell, who is Kurt Russell’s son. Cavill is currently filming Highlander, though production on that appears to be nearing its end. But Russell is most fans’ pick to take over the role from his father. He looks just like him and, honestly, he’d fit right in, especially after he’s shown off his acting chops as John Walker in the MCU.
But Wyatt Russell, who is set to return in Avengers: Doomsday, has shot down the idea in the past. In 2021, he told Esquire that playing Snake in a reboot would be “career suicide 101,” adding, “That’s like what not to do.” Could he have changed his mind since? Sure. The actor has actually played a younger version of his dad in AppleTV’s Monarch: Legacy of Monsters. Maybe a phone call from Snyder could convince him to give the Snake Plissken role a shot.
For now, however, the casting conversation is entirely fan-driven. There’s been no announcement about the roles.
Snyder is currently in post-production on The Last Photograph, a small indie drama following an ex-DEA operative and war photographer searching for missing children in South America. After he wraps that project, he’ll probably move on to Escape from New York.
John Carpenter fans have waited a long time for a reboot. Whether or not they like the idea of Zack Snyder steering the franchise is probably a good or bad thing, depending on who you talk to. There are many who praise Snyder for his cinematography and his ability to create unique worlds. What many haven’t been so happy about is his writing. But with John Carpenter actually in his corner, Escape from New York could be another Watchmen (written for the screen by David Hayter and Alex Tse) or Dawn of the Dead, which was actually written by James Gunn. Those are two of Snyder’s universally celebrated films.
Escape from New York might just be the film that shuts everyone up.
