Edgar Wright’s highly-anticipated remake of The Running Man has officially cast Glen Powell, known for his role in the box office hits Top Gun: Maverick and Anyone but You, as its lead.
As reported by TheWrap, Edgar Wright will also produce The Running Man alongside Simon Kinberg and Nira Park. The film, based on the Stephen King novel originally published under the pseudonym Richard Bachman, promises to offer a fresh take on the dystopian story.
The plot of The Running Man, explained
The Running Man was first released in 1982. The book is set in the United States in 2025, a time when the country is grappling with economic collapse and escalating global violence. The plot centers around Ben Richards, who finds himself in the perilous game of The Running Man, a reality TV show where participants must evade professional hitmen to win a cash prize. The novel unfolds in a “countdown” format across 101 chapters, beginning with “Minus 100 and Counting …” and culminating in a chapter titled “Minus 000 and Counting.”
In 1987, The Running Man was adapted into a film directed by Paul Michael Glaser and featuring a cast that includes Arnold Schwarzenegger and Richard Dawson, among others. Set slightly earlier than the book, between 2017 and 2019, the film presents a dystopian United States where “runners,” who are convicted criminals, must survive a murderous television show. While the movie takes considerable liberties with King’s original story, it achieved moderate financial success, grossing $38 million against a $27 million production budget. However, Schwarzenegger’s The Running Man received mixed reviews.
Glen Powell’s career is on a remarkable upward trajectory after recently headlining Sony’s romantic comedy Anyone But You alongside Sydney Sweeney. Powell’s versatility will soon be showcased in the Netflix action-comedy Hitman, under the direction of Oscar-nominated Richard Linklater. He is also gearing up for a role in Universal’s Twisters, directed by Lee Isaac Chung. Furthermore, Powell’s U.S. naval aviation documentary The Blue Angels is slated for an IMAX and streaming release by Amazon’s Prime Video this Summer.
Stay tuned for the latest news regarding the future of Edgar Wright’s The Running Man remake starring Glen Powell.