The Big Picture

• The Escape From New York reboot is on hold as directors Radio Silence are no longer attached to the project.
• With no updates since late 2022, it seems the next installment of the John Carpenter franchise is on hold.
• The original movie is streaming now on Prime Video.

Radio Silence, Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett, are no longer attached to direct the Escape From New York reboot. This shouldn’t come as too much of a surprise since there hasn’t been any news on the project since the announcement of the pair’s involvement in late 2022. It also sounds like the next installment to the popular John Carpenter franchise is on hold, at least for now, according to the Scream and Abigail filmmakers.

Radio Silence have been some of the hottest directors around with their recent horror comedy Abigail being a critical hit. The film just bit its way to digital earlier this week. The director duo is also best known for Ready or Not and the last two Scream installments. While talking with Comicbook.com, Radio Silence were asked if there were any updates on the project. They only had bad news. "We are not, unfortunately. I think titles like that bounce around for a while and I think they've tried to get that out of the blocks a few times. I think it's just ultimately a tricky rights issue thing. There's a clock on it and we just weren't in a position to make the clock, ultimately.”

They would finish by giving a bit of hope, “But who knows? I think, in hindsight, it feels crazy that we would think we would, post-Scream, step into a John Carpenter franchise. You never know. There's still interest in it and we've had a few conversations about it, but we're not attached in any official capacity."

What’s ‘Escape From New York’ About?

Taking place in the near-future, 1997 at the time, the 1981 classic followed prisoner Snake Plissken (Kurt Russell) who has been tasked with rescuing the President of the United States who has been taken hostage in New York City. A New York that has been turned into a maximum security prison. While Carpenter is best known for Halloween and The Thing, this action thriller is up there with his best work. It’s also one of Russell’s most beloved roles. Both Carpenter and Russell would return for the sequel Escape From LA in 1996, but that’s often considered to be the director’s worst film. The franchise has been dormant ever since. However both films in the franchise recently got 4K Blu-ray releases from Scream Factory and Paramount.

Despite this disappointing Escape From New York news, Radio Silence is currently set to direct an upcoming comedy with Andy Samberg. There’s also a sequel to Ready or Not in development. While the pair are not set to direct the project at this time, this development may pave the way to them playing another killer game of hide and seek.

Stay tuned to Collider for more details on the Escape From New York reboot. The original is currently streaming on Prime Video in the U.S.

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