You know when you wish and wish and wish and wish for something to not be true, but then it’s still real regardless? Well that’s how we feel on the long-discussed Escape from New York reboot.

Despite our hopes that the redo of John Carpenter’s iconic 1981 movie will end up not coming to be, it seems that 20th Century Fox is intent on remaking this long-standing legendary film. In an update of sorts, today sees The Hollywood Reporter bring word that Neil Cross has been brought in to pen the screenplay for this reworking of Carpenter’s classic movie. Cross is likely best known to genre fans for being the creator of the brilliant Luther.

Plot-wise, the ’81 effort starred Kurt Russell in his most iconic role to date, Snake Plissken; an eye-patch-wearing badass who was sent into a maximum security prison, previously known as Manhattan, to rescue the President in a dystopian version of 1997. That film would eventually be followed up in 1996 by Carpenter’s so-so Escape from L.A.

Apparently Fox has plans to do to the Escape franchise, which also branched out to comic books and video games, what they did to the Planet of the Apes series in recent years. Whilst the last two Apes movies have been stunning, surely there’s just no plus points to redoing Escape from New York bar the fact that it may cause those not familiar with Carpenter’s 1981 movie to track it down and check it out.

As ever, expect more on this redo as we get it… although most of us here at Moonbase Alpha have our fingers, toes and balls crossed that the next news we break on Escape from New York is that it’s been scrapped.