Snake Plissken, the anti-hero of MGM's ESCAPE FROM NEW YORK and Paramount's ESCAPE FROM L.A. is making a multimedia comeback beginning in the spring.
An anime feature film is in the works for a 2004 release, and Hurricane Entertainment has partnered with director John Carpenter, producer Debra Hill and actor Kurt Russell to produce a comic book series, JOHN CARPENTER'S SNAKE PLISSKEN CHRONICLES, which will debut day and date with MGM Home Entertainment's special edition DVD of ESCAPE FROM NEW YORK. A preview issue of the magazine is to be unveiled at this week's ComiCon in San Diego.
In the anime movie, Russell will give voice to Snake. Carpenter, Russell and Debra Hill will executive produce in conjunction with a Japanese anime studio.
"We want to take Japanese sensibility and combine that with Western storytelling," said Hill, who added that she's speaking with a variety of writers.
Several video game publishers are vying for rights to Snake, with the first game expected to hit stores in 2004. Russell, who has said Plissken is his favorite film character, will be involved in the video game, including doing motion capture and voice work for the character. Josh Morris and Kevin Cleary of ACME Talent & Literary are packaging the deals in all media.
"When we made the original film in 1981, there was no video or DVD or video games," said Hill, who produced ESCAPE FROM NEW YORK. "I look at the movie industry at large today and most movies are in some way branded, whether they're spinoffs of a comic book, video game or novel or a sequel to a film franchise. We've done two movies, set up a TV series that didn't happen and now want to relaunch Snake Plissken back into the vernacular of pop culture."
Hill said the team has introduced Snake novels and is also exploring TV opportunities.
"We introduced a lot of legends in the first two films, and with the comics, novels, video games and anime, we'll be able to explore some of these things," she said. "How did Snake lose his eye? What happened in the Battle of Cleveland or at the Battle of Leningrad? What is New Las Vegas? We'll explore these stories as well as introduce new stories."
Thanks to the Hollywood Reporter
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