Jeffrey Dean Morgan Is Hounding Zack Snyder to Play Snake Plissken in ESCAPE FROM NEW YORK
Jeffrey Dean Morgan wants into Zack Snyder’s Escape From New York, and he’s apparently making sure Snyder doesn’t forget it.
The Walking Dead star has been campaigning for a shot at playing Snake Plissken in Snyder’s upcoming reboot of John Carpenter’s sci-fi classic. Snyder recently confirmed that Morgan has been contacting him about the project.
"He's been literally hitting me up," Snyder said on the Happy Sad Confused podcast. "He's the best. I love him. He's great."
That doesn’t confirm Morgan is getting the role, but the actor certainly isn’t waiting around for Snyder to call him first. Morgan would actually be an interesting choice!
Snyder was announced in June as the writer and director of the new Escape From New York. The project has already gone through a few different creative teams. Back in 2022, Scream filmmakers Radio Silence were attached to direct, with Leigh Whannell writing the screenplay. Both eventually departed the project in 2024.
Snyder explained his approach to the remake saying: “The approach is for me — the movie is going to be set in 97. It’s from the perspective of 1981.
“I set the movie — the war between the United States police force and the criminal elements takes place on July 9, 1981 which is the release date of the original movie. The rest is pretty much Escape From New York.”
The original 1981 film starred Kurt Russell, who was awesome as Snake Plissken, a former Green Beret turned convicted criminal who gets one hell of a deal.
After the President of the United States becomes trapped inside Manhattan, which has been converted into a massive maximum-security prison, Snake is given 24 hours to rescue him in exchange for his freedom.
Morgan previously talked about wanting to get involved during a previous interview and he made it very clear that Snyder has already heard from him.
"Bro, don't think I'm not texting him or calling him," Morgan said. "I already am. I mean, I think that Snake will probably be a little younger than I am, but you know, there's some roles in there...
“Grizzled Snake wouldn't be bad, by the way. It would be cool. Look, I'm going to do my due diligence and stalk him for a little bit, because that's one of my all-time favorite films."
A grizzled Jeffrey Dean Morgan version of Snake Plissken is certainly easy to picture. Morgan already has the weathered attitude and swagger that could work for the character, although, as he points out himself, Snyder may be looking for someone younger.
Morgan and Snyder also have some history. The actor played Thomas Wayne in Snyder’s Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, so this wouldn’t be their first time working together.
For now, Snyder hasn’t revealed who he has in mind to inherit Snake’s eyepatch from Russell. Morgan is making his interest impossible to miss, though, and if Snyder’s phone keeps lighting up with messages from him, at least we know what he wants.
Would you like to see Jeffrey Dean Morgan play an older, grizzled Snake Plissken in Snyder’s Escape From New York?