This is exactly what we need – an Escape to Victory remake Escape to victory (Picture: Channel 5)

There’s going to be a remake of Escape to Victory. Yep, you heard that right…

After you’ve made an acclaimed blockbuster, what’s the next step? Maybe you’d buy a yacht, maybe you’d get to work on that passion project.

Such mundane pleasures are below Doug Liman. He made Edge of Tomorrow, called the best blockbuster of the year, but instead of choosing to ante up and take a big payday, he’s opted to do a remake.


‘Ugh, where’s the creativity in Hollywood?’, we hear you cry. But wait, for this is an oddly exciting remake.



Liman and Warrior writer Gavin O’Connor are set to make a new version of Escape To Victory, the bizarrely enjoyable prison break/football movie starring Sylvester Stallone, Michael Caine and, of course, Pele.

Now most of the cast are too old (or dead) to reprise their roles, so we’ve taken a look at some actors and footballers who could tread in the bootmarks of the originals’ movie stars, football legends and Ipswich Town squad members.

The actors

Mark Strong could succeed Michael Caine as the POWs’ ex-player captain (Lester Cohen/WireImage)

The original saw Caine as West Ham player turned military captain John Colby, who becomes the player-manager of the POW team made to play an exhibition match against the Germans.

Now while marketing men might clamour for a headline role for David Beckham, and East End purists might suggest Danny Dyer’s got the swagger and dialect, we’d plump for Mark Strong.

A fine actor, physical enough to convince as a former footballer and with a bonce perfect for clearing wayward crosses.

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Ok, he’s Canadian but Ryan Reynolds could play a cocky GI, couldn’t he? (Picture: Joel Ryan/Invision/AP)

Sly Stallone played brash American POW Robert Hatch in the 1981 film and while he’d probably claim he’s more than capable of playing the role again, we reckon Ryan Reynolds would be a smart replacement.

Charismatic, desperate for a crowd-pleasing movie and with the height that’ll come in handy with the movie’s crucial penalty scene.

That’s a bingo! Surely Christoph Waltz has to be involved (Picture: Clemens Bilan/Getty Images)

Let’s be honest – if you’re casting a WWII German officer, there’s only one actor you want. Sure, you could have Robert Kretschmann, Til Schweiger or Daniel Bruhl.

But for Max Von Sydow’s successor as the German major, the clear, resounding choice is Christoph Waltz.

MORE: Why Edge of Tomorrow is 2014′s best blockbuster

The footballers

Neymar’s a ready-made replacement for Pele’s character (Picture: Buda Mendes/Getty Images)

A master with the ball was Pele, but an actor? No sirree, no matter how many erectile dysfunction ads he’s filmed.

Which means with his substantial advertising experience, silky skills Brazilian star Neymar Jr is ideal to portray the POWs’ key player.

Like Ardiles, foreign import Eriksen’s become a fan favourite for Spurs (Picture: Getty Images)

He’ll need help – a young, graceful and slight player who’s making waves in north London in his first season in the Premier League.



To follow Ossie Ardiles as POW maestro Carlos Rey – step forward, Christian Eriksen.

Big Tom’s passing range could work wonders in a wartime grudge match (Picture: AP Photo/Rui Vieira)

And who’s going to fill out the team? In 1981, director John Huston used several members of the then-successful Ipswich Town squad, including the gloriously moustachioed Scotsman John Wark.

Their replacements for the remake? Well, how about an unfashionable team who exceed the sum of their parts through gritty, determined football.

Yes, we mean Tom Huddlestone, Curtis Davies and the rest of the Hull City squad.

I mean, that already sounds like a better football film than Goal, right?