By Kofi Outlaw

IESB.net is reporting that director Brett Ratner (RUSH HOUR; X-MEN THE LAST STAND) has been brought on by New Line Cinema to direct a remake of the cult-classic film ESCAPE FROM NEW YORK. More specifically Ratner is the appointed replacement for the film’s original director, Len Wiseman (UNDERWORLD.)

Details are sketchy about led to sudden change in directors, but it has been further rumored that Wiseman’s job directing another film for New Line is also hanging precariously in the balance: a live-action adaptation of last year’s blockbuster video game GEARS OF WAR.

It is currently unclear just how much the script for ESCAPE FROM NEW YORK will be altered under the new director. Ratner’s past affinity for big action coupled with hearty (if not hit-or-miss) humor should make him a good fit for the film though, which alternates between over-the-top action sequences and oddball characters.

For those too young (or too sophisticated) to know, ESCAPE FROM NEW YORK was a John Carpenter (HALLOWEEN) B-movie released in 1981. The premise: evildoers kidnap the U.S. President and abscond with him to the most dangerous place on earth, the penal colony of Manhattan. Even the military is scared to go there anymore, so the government sends the biggest badass on earth to save the Pres: unruly prisoner Snake Plissken (Kurt Russell, all angry growls and a pirate eye-patch.) The film became a cult-hit due largely to its ludicrous premise, macabre, demented characters and the hilarious straight-forwardness with which Russell embodied the iconic role of Snake. The film spawned one god-awful sequel, ESCAPE FROM L.A., which was released in 1996.

Gerard Butler (300) is still rumored to be taking over the key role of Plissken for the remake. No details yet on when ESCAPE FROM NEW YORK will be released.