Stephen King first published The Running Man (under his alias Richard Bachman) in 1982, and a movie version starring Arnold Schwarzenegger hit theaters five years later. But King’s story of a dark future where down-on-their-luck Americans can compete in a deadly reality show for a huge cash prize had always been set in 2025, and so a new adaptation directed by Edgar Wright arrives later this year. Just in time too, because it feels like our real world has finally caught up with King’s dystopian vision.
Wright teased his new version of The Running Man at a New York Comic Con panel on Friday, alongside stars Glen Powell (who plays protagonist Ben Richards) and Lee Pace (who plays the villainous McCone). The panel played several exclusive clips from the movie, including showing Richards going through the application process for the Colman Domingo-hosted reality show and being told he’s “the angriest man to ever audition.” A second clip introduced TV producer Dan Killian (Josh Brolin), who tells Richards to let that anger out on-screen.
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Josh Brolin and Colman Domingo in ‘Running Man’Ross Ferguson/Paramount Pictures
“Since 1982, we’ve had nearly 30 years of reality shows that are much closer to what’s in the book,” Wright said on stage. “So it was an amazing thing making this movie, picking things from reality shows from all over the world. The game show set looks like a cross between UFC and American Idol.”
Wright was a fan of King’s novel even before he saw the Schwarzenegger movie, and remembers being disappointed by how loose the adaptation was. Back in 2017, when asked by a fan on Twitter about what movie he would be willing to remake, Wright named The Running Man. Producer Simon Kinberg was listening, and followed up with Wright about it a few years back.
One of Wright’s main creative choices is that unlike the ‘87 movie, which kept all of its action relatively contained, the new version of The Running Man sends Powell’s Richards and the other contestants outside to run as far as they can from the “hunters” led by Pace’s McCone. They have the entire world to hide in, but also that world is full of dangers.
Glen Powell and Michael Cera in ‘Running Man’Ross Ferguson/Paramount Pictures
“The coolest part about this one, that I’m really excited about, is how Edgar decided to be loyal to the book and take this out into the real world. So it feels like the entire world is hunting this guy,” Powell said. “There’s not just a group of hunters. Normal citizens can record and report you, they can take you out. So there’s this ever-present feeling of tension that’s throughout the entire movie, it’s relentless.”
Powell continued, “but as we know, tensions and comedy are married together in a lot of ways. So when you have a guy like E.W., who really knows how to marry those moments together, you get a tonal cinematic feast where you’re simultaneously watching a guy in danger for his life and simultaneously laughing at the circumstances. There’s this really bright-colored world of the game show around this guy struggling for his life.”
Edgar Wright on the set of ‘Running Man’Ross Ferguson/Paramount Pictures
The movie’s expansive scope came with challenges, as Wright freely admitted at the panel.
“As a teenager, when I watched the ‘87 film I was like, ‘Oh why didn’t they go out into the world, like in the book?’ Now, having done a very long shoot with 170 locations, I realized, ‘Oh yeah, those guys were smart,’” Wright said. “Because it was exhausting! I’m proud of it, it’s a very expansive movie, but it was ambitious.”
This version of The Running Man doesn’t totally disown the Schwarzenegger interpretation, though. This movie contains some homages to the ‘87 film — namely, the former governor of California appears on currency.
“We called him before we started filming, because he had given us permission to put him on the money. I told him we put him on the $100, and he said, ‘I am very happy about that,’” Wright said, finishing with his best Austrian accent.
There are also some nods to Wright’s own previous work. Namely, The Running Man marks the director’s first live-action collaboration with Michael Cera since 2010’s cult-classic comic-book adaptation Scott Pilgrim vs. the World (although Cera did reprise the role via voiceover for Netflix’s 2023 animated series Scott Pilgrim Takes Off, which Wright produced).
Michael Cera in ‘Running Man’Ross Ferguson/Paramount Pictures
“I’m excited for you guys to see Michael Cera in the movie,” Wright says. “He’s such an amazing blast of energy. And when we worked on Scott Pilgrim, he turned 21 on set. So to work with him 15 years later, when he’s a father of two, was a nice reunion. Him and Glen together make such a fun and unlikely double act.”
Powell added, “Cera’s amazing! It was also fun, as a fan of Scott Pilgrim, to watch you guys go down memory lane together.”
Wright did submit the script to King for approval before filming started, which he compared to showing homework to a very discerning English teacher (King’s job before he turned novelist). Thankfully, the renowned author was a fan of what he read.
“He loved the adaptation, which was both a blessing and a curse,” Wright said. “He raved so much about the script that I was like, ‘Oh sh-t, now we gotta make it.’”
‘Running Man’Ross Ferguson/Paramount Pictures
King’s commentary, according to Wright, was that the new movie is “more faithful to the book to keep the fans happy, but different enough to keep me on my toes.”
Meanwhile, Powell had to wait a little longer for King’s approval of his casting, in addition to the script.
“The only interaction I’ve had [with King] is Edgar offered me this movie saying, ‘You’re my Ben Richards,’ and I was like, ‘Let’s go!’” Powell recalled. But later that night he was like, ‘By the way, you have to be approved by Stephen King.’ I was like, ‘How does that happen?’ He said, ‘He’s gonna watch Hit Man tonight.’ So I had to wait overnight for Stephen King to watch Hit Man to see if I still had the role in the morning. He loved it, thank God!”
The casting is important here because Powell is more than just the main character of the Running Man. According to Wright, the entire movie is told from his viewpoint.
Glen Powell in ‘Running Man’Ross Ferguson/Paramount Pictures
“What’s amazing is that Glen is in every scene of the film,” Wright said. “There’s only one scene without him, and it’s a TV show he’s watching. I wanted it to feel very intense, that were with this character the whole way.”
Combined with the wide range of locations used for the wide-ranging story, the singular focus on Powell’s character sometimes led the actor to crazy situations. A great example came in the third and final exclusive clip shown at the panel, in which Powell ends up dangling off the side of a building in his underwear — a scene filmed in Bulgaria in February! But the hard-working star was up to the challenge, and then some.
“Talk about someone who gives 1,000 percent, and makes it look easy,” Pace said of his costar. “He shows up every day with a level of commitment that if you’re showing up to that same set, you’re gonna bring the same commitment. In a lot of our scenes, both of the characters are pretty stressed out. The work is real, but the cameras cut, and then you’ve got someone you can joke with on set, which makes those long days enjoyable.”
The Running Man hits theaters on Nov. 14.
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