The “requel” of John Carpenter’s Escape from New York is officially dead at Radio Silence, as the studio has exited the project.
Radio Silence has made good on their name, stepping away from the planned reboot of John Carpenter’s Escape from New York. While this is no doubt great news to fans of the original, one does wonder just how the project became something we couldn’t count on.
As director Tyler Gillett revealed to ComicBook.com, he and frequent collaborator Matt Bettinelli-Olpin are no longer part of a new Escape from New York. This is probably no real surprise, as news has been scant as of late. As Gillett put it, “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. But who knows?”
Gillett also said it might have been a misstep to even think they could try to continue something that John Carpenter started. “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.” Radio Silence may not have been able to pull the trigger on Escape from New York, but its following – as with so many Carpenter films – has a massive cult following.
As such, nobody at this time is officially linked to a new Escape from New York, which has been described not as a full-on remake but rather a “requel”, a portmanteau that can definitely take some getting used to. Heck, let Carpenter himself take it on – he doesn’t even have to leave his couch!
Outside of continuing franchise ventures as with Scream and the now-abandoned Escape from New York “requel”, Radio Silence recently released Abigail, which stands as one of the best horror movies of the year so far.
What do you hope comes of a reboot of Escape from New York? Do you want to see an update of it or should the original and its sequel be its legacy? Share your thoughts below.
