The Running Man: Edgar Wright gives Stephen King’s dystopian death-race another sprint round the block (trailer).
The Running Man: few titles in sci-fi are quite so elastic. First, we had Stephen King (under his sneaky Bachman alias) banging out the 1982 novel about a desperate everyman forced into a televised death chase. Then Hollywood said: “Lovely idea, Steve – but what if instead of a gaunt, desperate bloke in a tracksuit, we gave the world Arnold Schwarzenegger in a canary-yellow Lycra jumpsuit, spouting one-liners and throwing chainsaws at pensioners?” And thus, in 1987, we were gifted one of the most gloriously absurd action flicks of the decade, complete with Richard Dawson (yes, the game-show host) smarming about as the villain. It was loud, daft, and about as faithful to King’s novel as Mary Poppins is to The Exorcist.
Fast forward to 2025, and Edgar Wright (yes, of Shaun of the Dead and Baby Driver fame) has finally got his mitts on the project. Wright has promised his version will be a “much more faithful adaptation” of King’s book – which is a polite way of saying: no Lycra, no Arnie puns, no opera-singing stalkers named Dynamo. Instead, we’re getting something more satirical, more paranoid, and yes, probably with a banging soundtrack because Edgar Wright couldn’t direct a cat food advert without syncing it to a killer playlist.
This time round, Glen Powell (Top Gun: Maverick, Hit Man) laces up as Ben Richards, the reluctant contestant forced to survive thirty days while being hunted on live television. Instead of a TV prize of tinned goods and vague promises of freedom, the carrot dangled is a cool $1 billion – although, given inflation by 2025, that might just about cover your gas bill for the winter. Josh Brolin crops up as the show’s producer (think Thanos with a better tie collection), while Colman Domingo steps in as the oily host. Add Lee Pace as a hunter, Michael Cera as a rebel sidekick (imagine Michael Cera running through a dystopian wasteland – the mind boggles), and William H. Macy as the kind of kindly helper who inevitably dies horribly, and you’ve got yourself quite the eclectic line-up.
Filming took place in London and even at Wembley Stadium, which means we can all look forward to a sequence where the nation’s favourite football shrine becomes the backdrop for televised murder. Frankly, it’s only slightly more violent than watching Millwall play. Industrial Light & Magic are handling the effects, so expect the Hunters’ weapons to look shinier than Arnie’s quads circa 1987.
And yes, Glen Powell has been to see Schwarzenegger himself, who apparently gave the project his “full blessing”. Translation: Arnie’s too busy making Netflix documentaries about donkeys to cameo in this one, but he might pop up at the premiere to say “I’ll be back – again.”
Here at SFcrowsnest magazine, we do have a soft spot for the original film’s bonkers charm, but Wright’s darker, book-faithful take sounds like just the sort of dystopian thriller we could use right now. After all, in an age where reality TV already involves people eating kangaroo genitalia for ratings, The Running Man no longer feels like science fiction – more like Tuesday night telly.
The film dashes into cinemas on 14th November 2025, in formats ranging from IMAX to 4DX (for those who fancy being physically jolted every time a Hunter fires a rocket at Glen Powell). Put your bets down now on whether this version sparks a new wave of “death game” nostalgia – or whether audiences secretly pine for Dynamo and his sparkly cape.
One thing’s for sure: in the race for dystopian glory, Edgar Wright’s The Running Man is definitely in the running.
