Leigh Whannell tapped to write and possibly direct Escape from New York

Last Updated on July 30, 2021

20th Century Fox have been attempting to get a remake of John Carpenter's ESCAPE FROM NEW YORK off the ground for quite some time, and it seems that the latest person to take on the project will be Leigh Whannell as THR has reported that Fox have tapped the UPGRADE writer/director with penning the screenplay.

At the moment, the deal only includes writing the script, but THR's sources have said that there's a possibility that he may direct the ESCAPE FROM NEW YORK remake as well. The original film took place in the futuristic year of 1997 and found Manhattan having been turned into a giant maximum-security prison. When Air Force One is hijacked by terrorists, the President of the United States (Donald Pleasence) makes it to an escape pod which crashes in Manhattan. Desperate to recover him, the government turns to Snake Plissken (Kurt Russell). THR claims that Whannell's take on the project will be a new vision which will retain elements of the original but bring idea news to the table, which will hopefully help to avoid the "bloated tentpole remake path" that have affected other 1980s reboots such as ROBOCOP and TOTAL RECALL. Neil Cross (Luther) wrote the most recent version of the script, which was at one time reported to have Robert Rodriguez (ALITA: BATTLE ANGEL) at the helm.

The ESCAPE FROM NEW YORK remake isn't the only big project which Leigh Whannell has taken on this week, as it was reported several days ago that Universal have tapped him to write and direct a reboot of THE INVISIBLE MAN. The studio will be putting their failed Dark Universe cinematic universe to rest and moving in a new direction. "Throughout cinematic history, Universal’s classic monsters have been reinvented through the prism of each new filmmaker who brought these characters to life," said Peter Cramer, Universal’s president of production. "We are excited to take a more individualized approach for their return to screen, shepherded by creators who have stories they are passionate to tell with them."