"Escape From New York" Reboot Finds Its Director

Directing team Radio Silence — which consists of Matt Bettinelli-Olpin, Tyler Gillett and Chad Villella — will helm the reboot of "Escape From New York" for 20th Century Studios.

The studio won a bidding war for rights to the reboot in early 2015, with Andrew Rona and Alex Heineman’s The Picture Company set to produce the movie alongside Radio Silence.

Neil Cross, creator of the hit BBC crime series "Luther" starring Idris Elba, wrote the previous drafts of the screenplay. The search for a new writer is underway.

Veteran Hollywood star Kurt Russell starred as the iconic one-eyed anti-hero Snake Plissken in the original 1981 Dystopian action movie, released by Avco Embassy. Studiocanal owned the rights to the movie, which had several suitors, and was won by Fox on the back of the studio’s competitive bid.

Carpenter, who also directed classics including “Halloween” and “Assault on Precinct 13,” is also set to serve as an executive producer on the reboot. Steve Asbell and J.R. Young oversee the “Escape From New York” reboot for 20th Century Studios.

Set 16 years in the future, the original movie took place in Manhattan and saw it being turned into a maximum security prison. When the U.S. President’s plane crashes on the island, Plissken — a hardened, wise-cracking criminal — is tasked with bringing the Commander-in-Chief home safely. 

Carpenter directed the film and co-wrote with Nick Castle. Ernest Borgnine, Isaac Hayes, Harry Dean Stanton, Lee Van Cleef, and Adrienne Barbeau co-starred.

Radio Silence most recently relaunched the “Scream” horror franchise earlier this year.

It was a smash hit at the box office for Paramount and grossed $140 million worldwide on just a $24 million budget.

They just wrapped the next chapter in Scream, which will hit theaters next year. The team also made the critical hit "Ready or Not" for Searchlight Pictures.