Writer discusses cancelled Escape from New York anime sequel

Last Updated on July 30, 2021

Back in the early 2000s, John Carpenter, Debra Hill, and Kurt Russell were planning on delving deeper into the world they created in the films ESCAPE FROM NEW YORK and ESCAPE FROM L.A. with a project called "The Snake Plissken Chronicles", a multimedia endeavor that would have included a comic book series, a video game, and an anime feature, all centered on Russell's war hero turned antihero character Snake Plissken. Russell was even going to provide the voice of Snake for the video game and anime.

Sadly, Hill passed away in 2005, and with her passing The Snake Plissken Chronicles plan was cancelled.

Speaking with Syfy Wire to promote his upcoming comic book series Miles from Nowhere (which was originally conceived as a TV series with John Carpenter involved), anime co-writer Corey Mitchel revealed that he and William Wilson had completed a script for the project, using as a guideline a list of rules on the depiction of Snake that was given to them by Hill. Mitchel and Wilson wrote a 125 page script, which Carpenter then helped whittle down to 80 pages.

The anime was simply titled SNAKE, and the story was set in 2020, seven years after the events of ESCAPE FROM L.A. It followed 

Snake as he is forced by an evil casino owner in New Las Vegas to assassinate the President, who currently resides in Lynchburg, Virginia. However, things get messy fast after Snake is smuggled into Lynchburg and quickly becomes entangled in a battle between the rebels and the President's fascist regime."

Animation studio Production I.G. produced a 30 second teaser for the anime before it was cancelled. Mitchel shared a few small stills from the unreleased teaser with Syfy Wire; you can click over to their website to see them.

It's a shame we never got the anime, because it sounds like it would have been a great new chapter in the Snake Plissken saga – and it would have been awesome to hear Russell voicing the character.

An ESCAPE FROM NEW YORK remake is now in the works, with Robert Rodriguez attached to direct.