Zack Snyder Updates us on the Escape From New York Reboot … and I (Strongly) Disagree With One of His Comments About the Original
Zack Snyder recently appeared on the Happy Sad Confused podcast, where he provided a few interesting tidbits about this John Carpenter reboot. Some of the info is good news … but one piece bothers me, I’m not going to lie.
I previously reported on this project HERE, where I wrote the following:
The original Escape From New York is a John Carpenter classic, filmed just after Halloween and just prior to The Thing. It was the second collaboration between Kurt Russell and John Carpenter, the first being the TV miniseries Elvis. The story was dystopian and postulated a future in which Manhattan had become a walled-in prison, within which Air Force One has crashed. Inmate Kurt Russell is sent in to rescue the president, or die trying. It was a hit at the time (1981) and Snake Plissken became an iconic anti-hero.
The Update
At the podcast, Snyder said the following:
“The movie’s going to be set in ’97 from the perspective of 1981. I set the movie, sort of the war between the United States Police Force and the criminal elements takes place, I think, July 9th, 1981, which is the release date of the original movie … And then the rest is pretty much Escape From New York.”
So it will feature retrofuturism, which is the aesthetic of how past eras predicted what their future would look like. Examples include Fallout (the 1950’s future aesthetic) and The Rocketeer (the 1930’s future as forecast in pulp magazines of the time). In the case of Zack Snyder’s Escape From New York, it will be the future 1997 as seen by people of 1981.
He continues to discuss satire and the commentary about the militarization of police and government. He knows who will be Snake Plissken, but he won’t say, although Jeffrey Dean Morgan (Negan in The Walking Dead) has expressed great interest in this role.
Read my article on the making of Escape From New York Part 1 HERE, which includes lots of behind-the-scenes trivia.
I am pulling for Snyder and I think he can create a great and intense action film. I’m looking forward to it, and I’ll continue to post about it here at Life After Gateway. HOWEVER …
… he also said this in the discussion, and it’s a comment about the original film that I totally disagree with:
“Talk about a movie that is like the perfect combination of kitsch and camp, and it’s all the things … that’s why I love it.”
“Kitsch” is an appreciation of things that are of low quality, sentimental, or in bad taste.
“Camp” is art or performance that is exaggerated or theatrical or over-the-top.
I have to disagree with what Snyder is saying here. I remember when Escape From New York came out. Snake Plissken was a new action hero for us. He was amazing. The movie’s effects were cutting edge. It was the first example of a plane’s controls being fully virtual (the vehicle Snake lands on the World Trade Center), and the digital map of the city (created with tape and blacklights on a physical model) was an innovative way of duplicating computer VFX in a practical way that impressed industry professionals.
In addition, James Cameron himself worked on some of the sequences, most notably Air Force One in flight amongst the clouds, and that effect stood far above all other modeling effects at the time. Escape From New York was a watershed film in action, effects, and satire/political commentary, and Snyder misses this point. Perhaps he’s speaking from a current perspective of newer fans today, but those of us who saw the film upon its release don’t feel any kitsch or camp about it.
It was a serious film, not camp. At the time, campy films included Metalstorm: The Destruction of Jared Syn, The Ice Pirates, Megaforce, Flash Gordon, and Spacehunter: Adventures in the Forbidden Zone. When you look at these films alongside Escape From New York, there is simply no comparison. We knew those movies were campy. EFNY was a balls-to-the-wall action film, plain and simple. It was a satire of NYC and politics and featured the Plissken anti-hero.
Here’s James Cameron’s Air Force One sequence (it’s only fifteen seconds long). For effects at this time, this seemed real:
Here is Zack Snyder on the podcast, talking about Escape From New York. Credit to YouTube channel Josh Horowitz. For the record, I’m a Snyder fan. I enjoyed the hell out of 300 and know he will do a great job with Escape From New York. His visual sensibilities will create an epic environment for his Plissken to tear apart. I’m all in, and I’m excited about this. As more news comes in about this project, I’ll post it here at Life After Gateway.
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A Blanket of Steel by Timothy S. Johnston and from Fitzhenry & Whiteside, LTD. is the recipient of the 2024 GLOBAL Thriller Award GRAND PRIZE and the 2024 CYGNUS Award First in Category.
— Timothy S. Johnston, 29 September 2026
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Praise for Timothy S. Johnston’s A Blanket of Steel
“Fans of Clive Cussler’s NUMA Files will be delighted with Timothy S. Johnston’s undersea novels. Truman McClusky and Dirk Pitt are cut from the same adventurer’s cloth.” — Nick Cutter, author of The Deep and The Troop
“Action that ranges from close range combat to torpedo-fueled attacks. The result is a thriller that keeps moving from confrontation to confrontation … with constant danger and the vast depths of the ocean as a setting, there is always reason to keep reading.” — Kirkus Reviews
“Read the book and prepare to be blown away by one of the best writers I have ever had the pleasure to read. Timothy S. Johnston is simply amazing.” — FIVE Stars from Readers’ Favorite
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“Innovative technology, Mac taking risks no one else would dare and thinking his way through to brilliant solutions … But the stakes are higher than they’ve ever been before. This is it. The countdown to the final battle … Johnston does an excellent job of keeping the tension taut as he plays with the reader’s perceptions of characters we thought we knew and trusted …” — SFcrowsnest
“Expect to be left breathless. Trust me here. Please. I COULD NOT PUT IT DOWN.” — Michael Libling, author of The Serial Killer’s Son Takes A Wife and Hollywood North: A Novel in Six Reels
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A BLANKET OF STEEL is out now!
WATCH THE GRIPPING BOOK TRAILER HERE.
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A Blanket of Steel from Timothy S. Johnston and Fitzhenry & Whiteside, Ltd.
Book Cover & Jacket Copy:
AN UNSTOPPABLE THREAT!
A mysterious assassin has murdered Cliff Sim, Chief Security Officer of the underwater colony, Trieste. Cliff was a mountain of a man, highly trained, and impossible to defeat in combat. And yet …
Someone brutally beat him and left his broken body in a secret Chinese facility at the bottom of the Pacific Ocean.
And included a calling card for Truman McClusky, Mayor of Trieste.
Taunting him.
Mac has led the underwater colonies in their fight against the world’s superpowers. Climate change has devastated the surface; nations suffer famine, drought, rebellion, rising waters, and apocalyptic coastal flooding. But now, as Mac leads the underwater colonies to freedom and independence, he’s faced with the gravest threat of his life: a Russian assassin, hellbent on killing Mac and everyone he cares for. Now Mac must uncover the identity of the killer, face him in combat, and at the same time lead people in battle against the largest underwater force ever assembled. It’s Mac’s final test, and to win the war, he must use every tool at his disposal, including the most surprising and devastating underwater weapons ever invented.
If Mac fails, all hope is lost for the future of human colonization on the ocean floors.
But the assassin could be anyone …
Watch your back, Mac.
A Blanket of Steel is the most gripping thriller yet in The Rise of Oceania.
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The other books in The Rise of Oceania series by Timothy S Johnston:
The War Beneath 9781771484718
The Savage Deeps 9781771485067
Fatal Depth 9781554555574
An Island of Light 9781554555819
The Shadow of War 9781554556007
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THE WAR BENEATH: FIRST PLACE 2018 GLOBAL THRILLER Action / Adventure Category Winner, 2019 Silver Falchion Award Finalist, 2018 CLUE Award Semi-Finalist, 2019 Kindle Book Awards Semi-Finalist, & 2019 CYGNUS Award Shortlister
THE SAVAGE DEEPS: FIRST PLACE 2020 CYGNUS Award Winner, 2019 GLOBAL THRILLER Awards Finalist, 2022 Kindle Book Awards Semi-Finalist; 2019 CLUE Award Shortlister
FATAL DEPTH: FIRST PLACE 2021 GLOBAL THRILLER Award Winner, 2022 Silver Falchion Award Finalist (Best Action Adventure), 2021 CYGNUS Award Semi-Finalist
