Zack Snyder is set to launch a new franchise reboot following his work on the DC universe.

Two decades after reimagining George A. Romero’s *Dawn of the Dead*, Zack Snyder is setting his sights on another iconic film. Reports indicate that Snyder is set to write and direct a fresh take on John Carpenter’s *Escape from New York*, the 1981 action classic that introduced audiences to the gritty anti-hero Snake Plissken.

In contrast to Snyder’s recent direct-to-streaming projects, *Rebel Moon – Part One: A Child of Fire* and *Rebel Moon – Part Two: The Scargiver*, this new version of *Escape from New York* is aimed for a broad theatrical release. The project is still in its early stages, with plans to market the remake in the coming weeks. Carpenter is expected to serve as an executive producer for the film.

This isn’t the first time *Escape from New York* has been eyed for a remake; attempts have been made since 2015. However, with Snyder’s involvement, there’s a stronger chance this project will come to fruition.

The original *Escape from New York* is a dystopian action film set in 1997, depicting a United States so plagued by crime that Manhattan has been turned into a maximum-security prison. When Air Force One is hijacked by terrorists, President John Harker (played by Donald Pleasence) is placed in an escape pod that lands in Manhattan, where he is quickly captured by the city’s dangerous inhabitants. To rescue him from the gang leader known as The Duke (Isaac Hayes), former special forces operative Snake Plissken (Kurt Russell) is sent into the chaos, accepting the mission only after being promised a pardon for his own crime of robbing a Federal Reserve.

Russell’s Plissken later appeared in the less successful sequel, *Escape from L.A.*, and the character served as a significant inspiration for Solid Snake, the one-eyed protagonist of the *Metal Gear* series.

Carpenter revealed that he penned the screenplay for *Escape from New York* in the mid-’70s, inspired by the cynicism surrounding President Richard Nixon after the Watergate scandal. “The whole feeling in the nation was one of real cynicism about the president,” Carpenter noted in 1994. “I wrote the screenplay and no studio wanted to make it. They all said, ‘We’ve been up on the president enough. We can’t have this kind of dark view.'” Sound familiar?

It remains to be seen if Snyder can create a believable scenario where audiences would feel the President of the United States is worth saving from his violent captors. The director of *300* and *Zack Snyder’s Justice League* certainly has a challenging task ahead.

Five years ago, the Snyder Cut felt like a cultural phenomenon. Now, it’s just a memory.