Hold onto your hats, action fans! The long-awaited remake of The Running Man is back on track, and this time it’s snagged a hotshot star.
CinemaCon 2024 revealed that Glen Powell, known for his role in Top Gun: Maverick, will take the lead role in the film. This character was originally played by Arnold Schwarzenegger in the 1987 version.
News of the remake first surfaced in 2021 when director Edgar Wright expressed his desire to tackle the project. Now, with Powell on board, things seem to be moving forward.
Here’s a quick rundown of what we know so far:
- Based on a Stephen King novel: The Running Man is actually based on a book written by Stephen King under the pseudonym Richard Bachman. It was published in 1982.
- Dystopian future: The story takes place in a bleak future America, where a desperate man named Ben Richards joins a deadly game show to win money for his sick daughter.
- Hunt for survival: The show involves Richards being hunted by skilled assassins. Can he survive and win his freedom?
Original vs. Remake:
- The 1987 film adaptation with Schwarzenegger took some liberties with the source material.
- Wright’s remake promises to be a more faithful take on King’s story.
Release Date:
While there’s no word on a release date yet, the news of Powell’s casting suggests the project is gaining momentum.
Stay tuned for further updates on this exciting remake!
Wikipedia / The Running Man (1987 film)
The Running Man is a 1987 American dystopian action film directed by Paul Michael Glaser and starring Arnold Schwarzenegger, María Conchita Alonso, Richard Dawson, Yaphet Kotto, and Jesse Ventura. The film is set in a dystopian United States between 2017 and 2019, featuring a television show where convicted criminal “runners” must escape death at the hands of professional killers. It is very loosely based on the 1982 novel of the same title written by Stephen King and published under the pseudonym Richard Bachman.
