Gerard Butler has just breathed a sigh of relief today, and so have his agent and his fans, as the announcement arrives that he’s left the remake of John Carpenter’s classic Escape From New York.
It seems about time as we heard that Len Wiseman dropped off and then that Brett Ratner was on and then off, and none of this was looking good for the remake.
Now the announcement from Variety tells us that Gerard Butler has realised things were going down fast and he’s bailed. Frankly I think it was a bad choice from the beginning, but now that he’s realised that the next step from Brett Ratner wasn’t a good one he’s decided to depart the production.
New Line aren’t done with it though, they are hiring Jonathan Mostow to rewrite with an option to direct, and that really doesn’t sound good. If he can make a joke out of, and stumble so badly, with the Terminator franchise, then you have to wonder what he will make of the remake of Carpenter’s classic.
The original Escape From New York looks destined to be safe for some time to come.