'John Carpenter's 1980s Sci-Fi Officially Returns, Finally Completing the Trilogy

This Fall, fans can return to the world of Snake Plissken with Escape From New York: Escape From Chicago, and ScreenRant has a first look.

John Carpenter’s Escape From New York franchise returns with a bold new entry. Considered one of Carpenter’s best films, Escape From New York transported audiences to a broken and defeated America, where crime runs rampant and Manhattan has been converted to a maximum security prison. The film helped launch Kurt Russell’s career, and kicked off a multimedia franchise, with a new entry on the horizon.

Released in 1981, Escape From New York was an early film by John Carpenter, who had made a name for himself a few years before with Halloween. Carpenter wrote the film initially in response to the Watergate Scandal, but it took many years, and the success of Halloween, to get it made. However, the film was a hit and helped cement Carpenter’s reputation. Carpenter had proven himself adept at horror with Halloween, and Escape From New York saw him branch out into the science fiction action genre.

Escape From New York also launched a franchise. A sequel, Escape From LA, arrived in theaters in 1996, but failed to duplicate the magic of the original. There have also been comic books produced based on the film. Publishers such as Marvel, CrossGen and Boom Studios have produced comics continuing Snake Plissken’s story. Now, Mad Cave Studios is unveiling an exciting new chapter in the Escape From New York saga, and ScreenRant is pleased to bring fans a first look.

This Fall, Mad Cave Studios Invites Readers to Escape From Chicago

Mad Cave Studios will release Escape From New York: Escape From Chicago this fall. Written by Kyle Higgins and drawn by Val Rodrigues, the book sees Snake travel to the Midwest city of Chicago. Mad Cave provided ScreenRant with a synopsis of the book, which reads as follows:

Once you go in, you don't come out—unless your name is Snake Plissken! Plissken now survives as a coyote, smuggling people and contraband across the dangerous dead zones between prison territories like Chicago. It's a hard and bitter job. But when he's hired to extract a woman wanted by the city's warlord, Snake sees one more chance at redemption—or one more chance for the universe to kick his ass.

Escape From New York: Escape From Chicago will also ship with a handful of variant covers, shared here courtesy of Mad Cave Studios.

The creators behind Escape From Chicago are all John Carpenter fans, and are beyond excited to work on the project. In a press release from Mad Cave, writer Kyle Higgins, reflecting on the original film’s legacy and impact, was quoted as saying:

Escape From New York is one of the films that taught me what genre storytelling could be—lean, mean, and built on a world you can't stop thinking about. Getting to write in Carpenter's Manhattan is the kind of thing my younger self wouldn't have believed. I can't wait for everyone to see Snake's next adventure.

Likewise, artist Val Rodrigues was thrilled to draw Escape From Chicago, saying:

When I received the invitation to draw this project, I grabbed it with enthusiasm. Having the chance to draw such an iconic character from the movies by such a legendary movie director as John Carpenter is a fun and challenging task. Readers can expect the excitement of a Carpenter-style movie, with a distinctively absurd ’80s action skillfully adapted to the comics medium by Kyle’s writing, and that I’m doing my best to do justice with my linework.

Mad Cave has billed Escape From Chicago as a “continuation” of the original film, and Higgins and Rodrigues will do John Carpenter’s vision justice.

Escape From New York Hinted at a Larger World Outside Manhattan

Snake Plissken Is a Great Action Anti-Hero

Escape From New York arose during a period of uncertainty in America. While the Watergate Scandal had largely faded from the public consciousness by the time Escape From New York opened in theaters, the film still touched a nerve with audiences in 1981. Fear of violent crime, particularly in big cities like New York, was all on the news during that period, and Escape From New York tapped directly into these anxieties. Snake Plissken was the perfect anti-hero to soothe America’s shredded nerves. Escape From New York: Escape From Chicago continues Snake’s story, expanding his lore and world even further.

The book will give glimpses into the larger world John Carpenter created in Escape From New York. Higgins and Rodrigues are taking fans to Chicago, showing what has become of the Windy City in the future. If Escape From Chicago is successful, then it opens up many more interesting story possibilities. Snake could travel to other American cities, such as Dallas or Seattle, or perhaps even outside of America, to Canada or Mexico. Escape From New York’s new entry will open the franchise, and carry it forward.

Escape From New York: Escape From Chicago is on sale September 23 from Mad Cave Studios. FOC is August 24!