Escape From New York Reboot Loses Radio Silence Filmmakers (Exclusive)

Thanks to their major successes with both 2019’s Ready or Not and 2022’s Scream, directors Tyler Gillett and Matt Bettinelli-Olpin landed the coveted gig of directing a revival of John Carpenter’s Escape from New York, though in the years since they joined the project, they have since parted ways. The pair cite the limited timelines and rights issues to move forward on that project, along with their own schedules, that saw the timeframe close for possibly jumping onto the revival. The directors’ most recent effort, the vampire-comedy Abigail, is now available to watch at home from Universal Pictures Home Entertainment.

When asked by ComicBook if the duo were still developing the project, Gillett confirmed, “We are not, unfortunately. I think titles like that bounce around for a while and I think they’ve tried to get that out of the blocks a few times. I think it’s just ultimately a tricky rights issue thing. There’s a clock on it and we just weren’t in a position to make the clock, ultimately. But who knows? I think, in hindsight, it feels crazy that we would think we would, post-Scream, step into a John Carpenter franchise. You never know. There’s still interest in it and we’ve had a few conversations about it but we’re not attached in any official capacity.”

While the directors, who are collectively known as “Radio Silence” (along with producer Chad Villella), offered updates on the project in 2023, there’s been little information released in recent months about the status of the project. Having also confirmed they were taking a backseat with the upcoming Scream 7, Radio Silence have yet to announce what their next directing project will be.

In Abigail, after a group of would-be criminals kidnap the 12-year-old ballerina daughter of a powerful underworld figure, all they have to do to collect a $50 million ransom is watch the girl overnight. In an isolated mansion, the captors start to dwindle, one by one, and they discover, to their mounting horror, that they’re locked inside with no normal little girl.

Abigail stars Melissa Barrera (Scream franchise, In the Heights), Dan Stevens (Gaslit, Legion), Kathryn Newton (Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania, Freaky), William Catlett (Black Lightning, True Story), Kevin Durand (Resident Evil: Retribution, X-Men Origins: Wolverine), and Angus Cloud (Euphoria, North Hollywood) as the kidnappers and Alisha Weir (Roald Dahl’s Matilda the Musical, Darklands) as Abigail.  

Abigail is now available to watch at home from Universal Pictures Home Entertainment. Stay tuned for updates on the future of the Escape from New York reboot.

Are you disappointed the filmmakers are no longer attached to the project? Contact Patrick Cavanaugh directly on Twitter or on Instagram to talk all things Star Wars and horror!