Glen Powell is flexing his action star skills in Edgar Wright‘s long-awaited “The Running Man.” Powell leads the film as one of the many American citizens who participate in a game show called “The Running Man,” in which murderous Hunters chase contestants across the globe. Colman Domingo plays the host of the reality show, with Wright reuniting with his “Scott Pilgrim vs. the World” alum Michael Cera as well for the ensemble cast.
“The Running Man” is based on Stephen King‘s 1982 novel, which was published under the pseudonym Richard Bachman. Wright co-wrote the adaptation with “Scott Pilgrim vs. the World” screenwriter Michael Bacall; Wright previously announced that the film will be more faithful to the source material than Paul Michael Glaser’s 1987 film version starring Arnold Schwarzenegger. Both the novel and the film were set in the year 2025, with Wright’s iteration now to be released this year.
Josh Brolin, Lee Pace, Katy O’Brian, William H. Macy, Emilia Jones, David Zayas, and Sean Hayes also star.
Wright said during an appearance on the “Happy Sad Confused” podcast in December 2023 that he felt as though the novel really had to get its due onscreen. “I like the film but I like the book more, and they didn’t really adapt the book. Even as a teenager when I saw the Schwarzenegger film I was like, ‘Oh, this isn’t like the book at all!,’” Wright said. “And I think, ‘Nobody’s done that book.’”
Lead star Powell teased while at CinemaCon 2025 that “The Running Man” was one of his most intense roles ever, saying, “I’ve never worked harder on a movie in my life.” Powell also told IndieWire that it was “surreal” to work on the blockbuster, especially filming at Wembley Stadium.
“Oh, we’re shooting a pretty crazy sequence in ‘Running Man,’” he said. “We’ve been taking over Wembley for the week. That was literally my office. One of the boxes in Wembley is literally my holding area, that was my hair and makeup [spot]. We had an action sequence within the building that we were doing. It was a pretty surreal way to spend the day.”
Paramount Pictures will release “The Running Man” in theaters on Friday, November 7. Check out the trailer below.