THE RUNNING MAN: Edgar Wright Breaks Down His Reboot’s Leads and Talks About Earning Schwarzenegger’s Blessing
Edgar Wright’s The Running Man reboot is speeding toward theaters, and now that the first trailer has dropped, the filmmaker is talking about and teasing what fans can expect, from the revamped cast of heroes and villains to getting Arnold Schwarzenegger’s personal stamp of approval.
Based on Stephen King’s dystopian novel (written under the Richard Bachman pseudonym), this new version of The Running Man isn’t looking to copy the 1987 cult favorite. It’s diving deeper into the source material while giving it a modern, unflinching energy.
Glen Powell (Top Gun: Maverick, Anyone But You) takes the lead as Ben Richards, an out-of-work construction worker who enters the Network’s deadly 30-day survival show in a desperate attempt to save his sick daughter. Jayme Lawson plays Sheila, Ben’s wife, adding emotional stakes to the chaos.
“Richards is looking to go to the Network building to get onto a different show, to get some quick cash,” Wright explains. “Then a series of incidents lead to him becoming a prime candidate for The Running Man.”
On the antagonist side, Josh Brolin is Dan Killian, who’s not just the show’s producer, but the mastermind behind the entire bloodsport. “
Brolin calls his character, “A guy who basically has created this show, and runs this show, and loves to create any scenario that he can that's going to bring more people emotionally wrapped up into the show, regardless of the consequences.”
Lee Pace plays McCone, the lead Hunter tasked with tracking Richards. He calls the character “a kind of murderous ghost that follows Richards through the story, trying to murder him, but also trying to put on a show for the American public.”
And then there’s Colman Domingo, channeling Jerry Springer energy as Bobby T, the wildly charismatic face of The Running Man TV broadcast. “The most famous celebrity in the world,” Domingo says. “Which is why we have to make sure he shines in every way, with his diamonds and his jewelry and his expensive Jacob & Co. watch.”
Supporting cast includes Martin Herlihy and Katy O'Brian as fellow Runners, William H. Macy as a shady black-market dealer, Emilia Jones in a mysterious and pivotal role, and Michael Cera as Elton, a character from the book that Wright teases has “a little surprising” arc compared to Cera’s usual fare.
“It was such a thrill to be with him and also just to see him and Glen Powell together,” Wright adds. “They’re a very unlikely duo.”
One of the biggest moments for Wright and Powell was Getting Arnold Schwarzenegger’s blessing. The director reveals that he and Powell got on a Zoom call with the action legend, and it couldn’t have gone better.
“It was amazing,” Wright says. “We wanted to give a nod to the great man in the film — I'm not going to say what that was — and we sort of needed his approval for it.”
He continues: “Glen has been in film with Arnold; he was in Expendables 3, and he knew [his son] Patrick. I said, ‘We have to talk to Arnold.’ It was an incredible call… He actually said to us, ‘Out of all of my films that I've made, I've always felt that's one that would be a worthy remake, and I think you guys are all set up to do that.’ He basically gave us his blessing, and it was an incredibly sweet thing to do.”
This reboot looks to fix what many felt the original got wrong giving us a movie that’s sharper, deadlier, and more relevant than ever. A brutal media satire wrapped in a high-stakes action thriller, The Running Man is gunning for both your adrenaline and your conscience.
The hunt begins November 7.