Stath Plissken?
Tom Hardy and Jason Statham? Are you fucking kidding me?!? Come on, Joel Silver and Studio Canal. Surely we can do better than this. Now don’t get me wrong, I am a fan of both actors. That said, this just isn’t cutting it. Hardy is already Mad Max and may get his own trilogy out of that part*, so do we really need him as Snake Plissken too? I think not. As for Statham? That’s just a choice that is all kinds of wrong-headed.
Honestly, this is just sad. Is there really no one else that we can go after (or fancast) than these two? What’s next? Michael Fassbender? Karl Urban? Taylor Kitsch? Paul Bettany? Chasing after Gerard Butler again, now that he’s doing well at the box office? Maybe we aim higher on the pay scale and go for Bale? Isaac Hayes wept. I don’t dislike any of these gentlemen, but they really should be thinking more outside the box on this one. Stop chasing actors that already have franchises and/or likely have no interest in doing this. You need someone who is going to give a shit at dissing out Snake’s “I don’t give a shit” attitude. If someone wants to just collect a paycheck here, be they high paid or not, move on to someone who will actually give some effort and not just do a rehash of one of their previous roles.
As I was perusing various pieces on this very subject, as well as comments elsewhere on the ‘net, people are fancasting the likes of Josh Brolin, Josh Holloway, Timothy Olyphant, Joel Edgerton, Mischa Collins, etc. While I’m not sure if any are who I would like to see inherit this part**, at least they aren’t the same chock choices that we see for EVERY SINGLE role like this these days. Kudos to those of you out there giving this some real thought. If only the powers that be would do the same. Change it up a bit. Live a little. Take a chance for once. Let’s not forget that Kurt Russell was primarily known for family fare before he blasted his way onto the screen as S.D. Plissken.
You want me to not rail against an Escape From New York remake? No problem. I won’t. Does it need redone? No. Could a remake turn out well in the right hands? Absolutely. Hire a good screenwriter and a director with vision to make this thing their own and then cast an actor who has just as much passion for the part as they do. As long as said actor’s name is not Jason Statham or some other beyond lazy choice, you have my blessing. If you don’t do those things, you be delivering a fatal blow to any chance of your precious trilogy coming to fruition as a whole. You will also be wasting the time and money of everyone involved in the production and in the audience the film is targeting.
Well, except John Carpenter’s time. He’s gonna have a whole lot of leisurely fun with the checks he cashes from this endeavor.
Source | Vulture
* – As well as Splinter Cell. Hardy is in no need of a third franchise.
** – Of all the names I’ve seen suggested by fans, Brolin gets my vote. Jonah Hex may have been shit overall, but he was a blast in it.
27 comments
The question dear Brutus, is who the director will be. I like the idea of Hardy, but him as Mad Max makes him to obvious in this role…Brolin would work and needs something like this. As for directors who are your thoughts?
Isaac Hayes wept, lol
Jensen Ackles, give that dude something other than Supernatural to do.
Supernatural is already greenlit for another season and will likely see a tenth before it goes off the air. Ackles is stuck for now.
They need to cast YOUNG. I hate saying that, since thats the mentality in Hollywood these days, but Russell was under 30 when he first played Plisskin. Maybe find someone who is relatively unknown too. Mike Vogel maybe?
Tobey Maguire? Jim Carrey? jk lol See! It could be worse.
But, seriously, how about Nikolaj Coster-Waldau? That creative enough for you?
You’re right. It could be Bruce Willis sleepwalking through it.
Agreed. Young is absolutely the way to go here.
Norman Reedus.
That’s actually a great idea, Sioux!
I said it over at Badassdigest, and I’ll say it here. The perfect actor for Plissken is this guy:
http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0776580/
James Franco or Joseph Gordon Levitt. Emile Hirsch could pull off the look…
Sinurandal: Joseph Gordon Levitt could be awesome! He’s got lots of range and seems to really go all in on his roles.
At least nobody’s said Chris Pine. Fanboy casting is as bad as Hollywood casting. Whoever was just in whatever was just seen is suggested. Why not get a relatively unknown actor?
I hate to be that guy, but who says Plissken has to be white?
I see some very inspired choices above from you all, but maybe the remake can have someone of a different ethnicity other than white play the main.
*anyone suggesting Will Smith should be slapped immediately.
Is Idris Elba too old? I think he’d be good. He was actually my first choice.
Oooh, sweet. Mr. Schulze is long overdue for a role like Plissken.
I gotta say, Josh Holloway would be perfect for the role.
The next instalment in the franchise has already been made. The last one Carpenter spoke about was a rescue from a Prison in space. Then came Lockout with Guy Pearce. But he was Snow, no Snake. Funny though. He should do more of this type of thing.
The parallels were so obvious. They even appear to have lifted the deleted sequence bank robbery (of sorts) from Escape. With Snow being captured on the underground, complete with briefcase and odd ball partner who dresses in army gear.
My 50p worth would be Luke Owens.
Not that he has a say in it, but hasn’t Kurt Russell say they should at least get an American?
Just make him American.
Matthew McConaughey. I know it sounds like a weird choice, but take a look at his recent filmography. Guy’s in a place now where he might be able to do this.
I second (or third) this. He’s got the look and badass chops to make it work.
Idris Elba for Snake and Kurt as the Duke?
Indeed it involved a prison and rescue, but said prison wasn’t in space. Ghost of Mars was originally Escape From Mars when Carpenter set it up at Sony. The studio got cold feet though and insisted on a rewrite to make it a stand alone film…….so we ended up with Ice Cube as the Diet version of Napoleon Wilson/Snake Plissken.
He can certainly pull off the badass element. Anyone that has seen Reign of Fire or Killer Joe can attest to that.
Mars made my eyes bleed. As did Vampires. I think Carpenter may have lost his way a bit and needs to revisit Escape.
I don’t think Russell is too old for one last kick, considering everyone else is having a go.
Then a reboot.
Some have had great results. Who would have thought Universal Soldier would actually get better.
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