Veteran filmmaker John Carpenter has recently said that he has more stories in mind for Kurt Russell’s Escape From New York character Snake Plissken. Carpenter, whose extensive resume began in the 1970s, was able to make the sci-fi/action classic off the back of the success of his 1978 horror film Halloween. More recently, Carpenter returned as executive producer and consultant on 2018’s Halloween, a direct legacy sequel to his original horror film that ignored all the other sequels which came after it.
Carpenter originally wrote the screenplay for Escape From New York in 1976 off the back of the Nixon Watergate scandal, but according to Carpenter, “nobody wanted it then. It was too violent, too scary, too weird”. When the film was finally released in 1981, it was both a critical and box office success that went on to inspire other pop-culture icons such as cyberpunk author William Gibson’s Neuromancer and the Metal Gear video game series. In 1996, Carpenter and Russell reunited for a sequel Escape From L.A., but unfortunately, it did not manage to achieve anywhere near the same level of success or acclaim as its predecessor.
While Carpenter’s work seems to be experiencing a significant revival, with the ongoing continuation of the Halloween franchise, the filmmaker’s mind now seems to be turning back to another of his hit franchises. In a recent interview with Total Film, Carpenter has admitted that there still may be more in store for Russell’s iconic anti-hero. Check out what Carpenter had to say below:
"He's a character that Kurt is passionately fond of. He convinced me to do the sequel. There's probably a third or maybe even fourth story about Snake. I don't know if we'll ever make it, but I think that he deserves it."
While Carpenter is not sure if he will ever get the opportunity to see these sequels made, there is likely to be a great deal of appetite for them among fans. Even though numerous attempts have been made at getting a reboot off the ground, it would be hard for any fan to imagine anyone other than Kurt Russell in the role of Snake. Even Russell’s son, The Falcon and the Winter Soldier’s Wyatt Russell has said he would never even consider taking on his father’s beloved character.
Rather than a reboot, a potential sequel, or sequels, which would see Russell return to the role however would no doubt be much more favorably received by fans. With Jamie Lee Curtis successfully returning to her role of Laurie Strode in Carpenter’s Halloween franchise, there is no reason that Kurt Russell’s potential return as Snake Plissken would be any less celebrated. No doubt Escape From New York fans will be keeping their fingers crossed that Carpenter’s ideas for more outings in the franchise begin to make their way into production.
Source: Total Film