Stephen King recently posted on social media about his reaction to Edgar Wright’s re-adaptation of The Running Man. King teased his positive reception, saying “New trailer: RUNNING MAN. BTW: I’ve seen it and it’s fantastic. DIE HARD for our time. A bipartisan thrill ride.” Glen Powell has the task of stepping into the shoes of Arnold Schwarzenegger for a new interpretation. However, Variety reports that Powell actually had to wait to get Stephen King’s approval before he could proceed with taking the role.
Per People, at New York Comic-Con, Powell explained,
Edgar offered me this movie, and I was like, ‘Yes.’ I’m like, ‘Let’s go…’ And then, like, later that night [Edgar says], ‘By the way, like, you have to be approved by Stephen King. He’s gonna watch Hit Man tonight.”sponsored content
He continued, “And so I had to wait overnight for Stephen King to watch Hit Man and hope that I still had the role in the morning. It’s terrible.” Powell, then, talked about how this remake will differ from the beloved 80s movie, “The coolest part about this [film] that I’m just really excited about is Edgar decided to take this [story] — loyal to the book — out in the real world. Citizens can record [and] report you. They can take you out. So there’s this sort of, like, ever-present feeling of tension that’s throughout the entire movie. It’s relentless.”
Wright is directing The Running Man from a script he co-wrote with Michael Bacall and is producing the film with Nira Park and Simon Kinberg. Powell is joined in the cast by Katy O’Brian (who had a breakthrough role in Love Lies Bleeding and shared the screen with Powell in Twisters) as a contestant; Daniel Ezra, who played the character Spencer James on 106 episodes of the CW series All American; Josh Brolin (Outer Range), playing a TV executive who is the main villain; Lee Pace (Halt and Catch Fire) as a ruthless hunter; Michael Cera (Scott Pilgrim vs. the World) as a “naïve rebel who tries to help the desperate man”; Emilia Jones (CODA) as a “privileged woman blind to the oppression of the government“; David Zayas (Dexter) as a character named Richard Manuel; Colman Domingo (Fear the Walking Dead) as the host of The Running Man, a violent reality show promising an outrageous cash prize; 6-foot-8-inch actor and former MMA fighter Chi Lewis-Parry (28 Years Later) as a runner; and Jayme Lawson (Sinners) and William H. Macy of Fargo and Boogie Nights in unspecified roles.
The Running Man hits theaters on November 14.
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