Coming off a number of high-profile projects, directing collective Radio Silence has apparently found its next film. Radio Silence — whose real names are Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett, along with producer Chad Villela — will be directing the long-awaited reboot of the 1981 action classic Escape From New York, originally directed by horror master John Carpenter. The filmmakers are now attached to the reboot film for 20th Century Studios, according to Deadline.
The trio is also slated to produce alongside partners Andrew Rona and Alex Heineman at The Picture Company. Carpenter will also return to play a pivotal role in the reboot, serving as executive producer. The Picture Company has an overall deal with StudioCanal, the company that holds the rights to the original film. While few additional details have been released, and certainly no cast announced, reportedly, the search for a screenwriter was currently underway.
The original Escape From New York film starred Kurt Russell as Snake Plissken, a gruff, hardened special forces soldier who must rescue the President of the United States from a crime-infested Manhattan that has been turned into a maximum-security prison. The film carried an ensemble cast of late 1970s film icons, additionally starring Ernest Borgnine, Lee Van Cleef, Donald Pleasence, and Isaac Hayes, among others. Where the upcoming film takes the story remains to be seen, though this is notably not the first attempt to reboot Escape From New York — New Line Cinema attempted to develop a remake in 2007, though the project never got off the ground.
For Radio Silence, the Escape From New York reboot will be the latest in a long line of projects the trio has made together. However, it will seemingly be a slight departure in genre, as Radio Silence is best known for directing a number of high-profile horror films. Most notable was the 2022 reboot/sequel Scream. Helmed by Bettinelli-Olpin and Gillett, Scream saw rave reviews and was considered by some to be among the best of the Scream franchise. In addition, the entire Radio Silence collective has contributed to the V/H/S horror series, anthology films consisting of found footage shorts. Beyond this, Bettinelli-Olpin and Gillett directed the 2019 dark comedy horror Ready or Not, which followed a newlywed bride being hunted by her new husband’s Satan-worshipping family. The film, similar to Scream, was released to a positive reception and grossed nearly $60 million worldwide on a budget of just $6 million.
No release window or start of production for Escape From New York has been announced. A trailer for the original 1981 film can be seen below: