Last week we heard that producer Joel Silver (The Matrix) and StudioCanal are planning to remake John Carpenter’s 1981 cult classic Escape from New York, and now the NY Daily News is reporting that British actors Tom Hardy (Warrior, The Dark Knight Rises) and Jason Statham (The Expendables 2, Parker) are battling it out for the lead role of Snake Plissken, played of course by Kurt Russell in the original film and its 1996 sequel Escape from L.A.
“Jason is the type of actor who has the physical attributes and screen presence to reprise Snake,” says a ‘Hollywood insider close to the film’s producers’ – which in journalist speak, generally translates to ‘we’ve made it up’. “He has a proven track record as a leading man and would do a great job [but] Tom was immense in The Dark Knight Rises and deserves to get a break in a top role. This could put him firmly in the A-list.”
Notwithstanding the fact that Tom Hardy has already had several top roles – including the one mentioned directly beforehand – the upcoming Mad Max: Fury Road star has been previously linked to the Escape from New York remake along with Jeremy Renner (The Avengers) and Gerard Butler (300) back when New Line Cinema held the rights. However, as far as we can tell, this is the first time The Stath has been mentioned as a possibility.
Who would you like to see donning the eye-patch for the Escape from New York remake? Let us know in the comments below…