Last week it was reported that producer Joel Silver is set to produce a new feature film adaptation of Escape From New York. Before Silver took it on, it was supposed to be directed by Breck Eisner (Crazies), and Gerard Butler, Jeremy Renner, and Tom Hardy were up for the role of Snake Plissken, who was previously played by Kurt Russell.
New York Daily News is now reporting the Hardy is still in the running for the part along with action star Jason Statham. Each actor has their strengths and weaknesses, but I could see either one of them in the part.
Silver is planning a new and different take on the material, with the goal to turn it into a trilogy. They will start off with an origin story similar to how they developed Rise Of The Planet Of The Apes.
I'm a fan of the original film, which follows a tough convict who is dropped into a futuristic New York that has been turned into a crazy violent maximum security prison. Snake is offered a pardon, if he successfully rescues the president, who is being held hostage by the prison kingpin after his plane crashes within the city walls. Snake is also fitted with a lethal device that will kill him if he tries to run or misses the deadline.
Hopefully Silver comes up with something cool for his reboot, in the meantime which of these two actors would you like to see play Snake?