There are some movies that everyone agrees should just remain unsullied by sequels, let alone remakes. Especially in what Quentin Tarantino has rightly dubbed the worst era of film-making ever. News that, for instance, The Princess Bride was mooted for a remake was met with instant, uniform backlash. Robert Zemeckis and Bob Gale are so adamant that Back to the Future will never be remade that both their wills direct their estates to forbid it. Imagine The Godfather or 2001 without Coppola’s or Kubrick’s auteur stamp.
But, Hollywood being the soulless, cash-grabbing monster that it is, and this being an era which has completely run out of new ideas, nothing is too sacred to escape the black hole of remake and sequel hell.
Are we going to need Milla Jovovich’s Leeloo to once again flash her “moolti-pass” in order to stop the great approaching evil? It sure sounds like it. Our trusted and proven sources have reached out to let us know that The Fifth Element 2, a sequel to Luc Besson‘s beloved 1997 sci-fi hit, is currently in development.
No.
No, no, no, no and goddamn, motherf-king HELL no.
For a start, most of the original cast creators are either dead (Ian Holm, Luke Perry), retired (Gary Oldman, and, in much sadder circumstances, Bruce Willis), or “MeToo” outcasts (director and co-writer Luc Besson was accused of rape in 2018; prosecutors dismissed all allegations for lack of evidence, but since when do MeToo harpies need evidence to ruin a career?).
So of all the big names left to reprise their roles in a follow-up, only two remain. There is of course Milla Jovovich who played the prophetic hero Leeloo who is still making movies and in fact will soon be starring in another sci-fi action flick called Breathe. Chris Tucker could also reprise his role, as the over-the-top celebrity Ruby Rhod, in The Fifth Element 2.
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Bugger all that, though. The simple fact is that the original was, for lack of a better word…
Another iconic SF/action movie is one that is far from perfect, but just as beloved: Escape from New York. But, while the film may not be perfect, its starring character absolutely was: Kurt Russell as Snake Plissken is one of the great anti-heroes of cinema.
So, the annnouncement that Russell is on board for a third Escape film is not as horrible as it could have been. Sure, it’s been 26 years since the last film, Escape from LA — but even that was made 15 years after Escape from New York.
Radio Silence, the directing team behind the latest Scream reboots, is taking on another popular property. Giant Freakin Robot reported yesterday that a sequel to Escape from New York is in the works from the Radio Silence trio, and this has been confirmed by the trades. The film is being made with the blessing of series creator John Carpenter and Kurt Russell is also signed on to reprise his role as the franchise’s antihero, Snake Plissken.
Radio Silence is led by Matt Bettinelli-Olpin, Tyler Gillett, and Chad Villella, and has made its mark in the horror genre with films like the VHS series, the anthology Southbound, and the critically acclaimed Ready or Not […]
There is no word yet about what the sequel is about, and Radio Silence is still looking for a writer to pen the script. But there have been rumors about what another Escape from New York movie would look like. Previously, there was speculation about an Escape from Earth movie that follows Snake Plisken in the aftermath of his escape from Los Angeles. However, it is not confirmed if this is the plot Radio Silence will be working with.
John Carpenter is set to executive produce the Escape from New York sequel but is perfectly content with allowing Radio Silence to handle the rest of the details. Although he is known for classic sci-fi and horror films such as The Thing, They Live!, and Big Trouble in Little China, he has almost twice as many writing credits as he does directing and is known more for his appearances as an icon of the genre.
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Hang on, though: isn’t Russell getting a little old for the action genre? Maybe — but so was Harrison Ford when he appeared in 2017’s Blade Runner 2049, 25 years after the original Blade Runner. But Ford played a secondary role to a younger protagonist, Ryan Gosling.
It appears that Russell will also be able to play off against a much younger actor — his own son, Wyatt Russell.
Wyatt Russell joining the Escape franchise makes sense, as it appears that the father and son duo have been planning far more projects with one another. Wyatt and Kurt will also be starring alongside one another for the new Godzilla and the Titans series that is set to debut on AppleTV. Both Wyatt and Kurt are fantastic actors, but it is great that they are now starting to work with one another more.
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Wyatt Russell also bears a striking resemblance to his father. Which makes for some intriguing speculation: will the two play a father-and-son duo? Will Wyatt play a younger copy of Snake, cloned by the dystopian future United States to out-snake Snake?
This is one sequel, at least, I’m keeping tentative fingers crossed for.