Watch Order
0 / 2 watchedBoth films in release order, which is also the story order.
About Escape from New York
The Escape films follow Snake Plissken, the eyepatched convict blackmailed into rescue missions inside walled off dystopias. John Carpenter's 1981 original sends Snake into Manhattan to save the president, and the 1996 sequel replays the formula in Los Angeles to rescue the president's daughter.
Watch in release order. Escape from L.A. deliberately mirrors the original beat for beat, right down to the glider and the countdown, so it plays as a companion riff that needs the first film. The two share a hero and a structure but no continuing plot, making them a loose pair rather than a saga.
Good to know
Carpenter directed both films with Kurt Russell as Snake, fifteen years apart, which is why the sequel feels like a remake wearing a sequel's clothes. A remake has been in development for over a decade without reaching production. The animated series idea floated in the 2000s never materialized, so the two films stand complete.
