It’s difficult to overstate just how iconic of a character Snake Plissken has become over the decades. The character originated in John Carpenter’s 1981 film Escape from New York, as played by the incomparable Kurt Russell. In the years since then, Plissken’s mythology and impact have only blossomed even further, though. In addition to a true-blue sequel (that rips, regardless of what you’ve heard) in the form of Escape from L.A., which saw Russell returning alongside Carpenter decades later, Plissken also served as the primary influence for Hideo Kojima’s Metal Gear Solid video game franchise and its main character, Solid Snake.
Thus, when it was announced that Zack Snyder would be directing the long-gestating Escape from New York remake and that things were moving full-steam ahead, a single question entered into many fans’ minds: who would be playing Snake Plissken? Well, we’re about to get an answer to that question, as a new report revealed that Snyder’s remake would be entering production in early 2027. This means that in the next few months, we’re bound to get an official announcement of who will be donning the iconic eyepatch.
For my money’s worth, this is very much not a fate I would wish on even my worst enemy. First of all, the idea to remake Escape from New York is something that has been kicking around for literal decades now, and it very much feels like it. There was an era where you could see something like this turning out decent and netting a nice little profit, but this is very much not that era.
Even the most general of audiences have long since soured on straight-up remakes of such films, something that had a huge role in leading studios and executives to prioritize legacy sequels instead. An Escape from New York legacy sequel sounds like the much more obvious route to take in this day and age, bringing Russell back as Snake and passing the mantle in some way. But instead, Snyder’s film is apparently going to be much more of a straight-forward remake.
The reason that replacing Russell in this role will prove to be so difficult lies in the specifics. Prior to his role in this film, Russell was primarily seen as a family-friendly performer, due in large part to the early part of his career, where he became a Disney mainstay. He had already collaborated once with Carpenter on Elvis in 1979, and that began to crack the confines of Russell’s pop-cultural perception. But from the moment he entered frame as Snake Plissken, a snarling blend of John Wayne and Charles Bronson with an extra heaping of charisma, Russell redefined himself as an onscreen performer in a way that has carried through to this very day.
Attempting to mimic this in any way could result in it feeling like a gimmick, but simply getting an action-ready star to play the role could make the whole thing feel rote. Honestly, I’m not sure there is a right answer to ‘who should play Snake Plissken?’ other than ‘Kurt Russell.’ Academy Award-winning filmmaker Sean Baker immediately suggested Wyatt Russell, but Wyatt has spoken in the past about not wanting to simply reprise his father’s roles, and that’s more than respectable. Wyatt is a fantastic performer in his own right who deserves more than to simply exist as his father’s younger double.
Whoever Snyder and co. ultimately cast, it will be fascinating to see the hows and whys of it all. An Escape from New York remake sounds like an awful idea, but I’m more than game to be proven wrong. After all, anything that sends another check to John Carpenter and funds more projects like his recent multimedia endeavor of Cathedral is worth it, in my eyes.
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