Two of the Best 80s Movies Are Getting Reboots by StudioCanal

Movie fans got a lot of amazing news from CinemaCon this year. There's been a ton of exciting teasers and announcements. While this is mainly an event for films coming out within the next year or so in theaters, that hasn’t stopped studios from dropping news-worthy tidbits on what’s to come in the distant future.

One of the prime examples of that has been StudioCanal, who announced not one, but two reboots of beloved 80s classics: John Carpenter's Escape From New York and Joe Dante’s The Howling.

The 80s Are Back

Via The Hollywood Reporter, StudioCanal’s executive VP of Global Marketing and Distribution, Hugh Spearing, made the exciting announcements. He described both projects as “reimaginings” rather than remakes. That’s basically all we know about the films at this point. They both seem to be in the early stages of development as there were no casting or story details given. The original Escape of New York from 1981 starred Kurt Russell as a tough-as-nails mercenary named Snake Plissken who is tasked with saving the President of the United States. He crash-landed in New York City in the distant future of 1997. In this alternate future, NYC has been turned into a maximum security prison.

The film would also get a sequel in 1996, Escape From LA. Even though Carpenter and Russell returned for the project, LA is often considered one of the iconic horror director’s lower-tier films. Over the last decade alone, there’s been more than a few filmmakers that have tried to reboot this genre-bending action franchise. This includes Radio Silence (Ready or Not). Yet, StudioCanal’s version looks to be the first real successful shot at a new Escape From New York film. Carpenter himself did express some interest in another Snake misadventure a few years back. Because of that, it'll be interesting to see if either him or Russell are involved in this upcoming project.

As for The Howling, Dante’s original 1981 adaptation redefined the werewolf sub-genre. With creative practical effects and an extremely dark story, this is often considered one of the best horror films of its legendary decade. The narrative followed a journalist played by Dee Wallace (E.T.) after she witnessed a horrific murder on the job. She goes to a retreat to recover from that tragic event, but she finds a cult of werewolves instead. The Howling’s legacy has been tainted a bit due to some hilariously bad sequels that were nothing more than cash grabs. That said, the original film is still a unique nightmare in its sub-genre. Especially when you consider its memorably disturbing ending.

Where Can You Stream Escape From New York & The Howling?

As fans wait for more news on StudioCanal’s upcoming reimaginings, both Escape From New York and The Howling are currently streaming on Amazon Prime Video. The latter is streaming for free on Tubi as well. However, if you’re a physical media nut, the boutique label Scream Factory has released multiple stunning 4K editions of these 80s gems.