Producer Joel Silver Making Another Attempt At ESCAPE FROM NEW YORK Reboot

Perhaps the third time will be the charm.

After two previous failed attempts, producer Joel Silver is taking another stab at remaking the 1981 John Carpenter classic Escape From New York. Deadline is reporting that Silver’s Silver Pictures is partnering up with Studio Canal to produce a reboot of the science-fiction action film.

No writer or director have been attached to the project yet. Reportedly the ultimate goal is to turn it into a trilogy.

Previously, Silver had teamed with New Line Cinema in an attempt to bring the story back to the big screen. Initially, Gerard Butler had been in talks to appear in the remake which was set to be directed by Len Wiseman and sported a screenplay by Ken Nolan. After both Butler and Wiseman dropped out, Jonathan Mostow was brought in for a rewrite. Allan Loeb wrote a new draft which brought director Breck Eisner on board though New Line eventually dropped the project in July 2011.

Unlike the attempts at New Line, it looks as if this new try does not have Carpenter’s participation.

Personally, I think Escape From New York is one of those films where the combination of director, star and script all create a certain alchemy that is impossible to recreate. But many, including myself, have said the same thing about Sam Raimi’s Evil Dead, and it is starting to look like that remake may actually live up to the original. Could that happen here? We’ll see.