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It’s been a little over three years since it was announced that director Edgar Wright was going to take a whack at adapting Stephen King’s The Running Man, but the project is now getting closer and closer to becoming a reality. It was announced earlier this year that one of Hollywood’s hottest young stars, Glen Powell, is set to star, and now production is gearing up to start in the fall. We don’t know much about the vision for the film other than the fact that it’s going to be much more faithful to the source material than the 1987 film starring Arnold Schwarzenegger, but thanks to Powell’s most recent comments about the movie, I’m more hyped than ever.
Glen Powell is presently on the press tour for Twisters, which arrives in theaters this Friday, and he spoke a bit about The Running Man remake during an interview with Indiewire. The actor confirmed that the upcoming Stephen King movie will be starting principal photography before the end of the year in London, and the enthusiasm he expresses about the project is infectious even via transcription. Said Powell,
[Edgar Wright and I have] been going back and forth on script stuff, and it’s so fun. The world that Edgar’s developed on this thing is just outrageous. It’s so good. And really, we’re just both such big fans of the Stephen King book, and it’s going to be a great character. I’m so fired up about it.
For those who aren’t aware, the aforementioned cheesy-but-great 1987 adaptation of The Running Man bares very little resemblance to the book on which it is based (which Stephen King originally had published with his pseudonym Richard Bachman). Glen Powell will be playing Ben Richards, a destitute man living in a dystopian future who needs to make money fast so that he can buy medicine for his sick and dying child. In an act of pure desperation and at great risk, he volunteers to be a contestant for the Games Network, a government-operated television station, and is selected to compete in the nation’s most popular show: The Running Man.
The opportunity means Ben will have the chance to win $1 billion dollars – but that’s only if he can survive for 30 days as a fugitive in society with a team of Hunters on his tail and everyday people offered prizes if they provide tips that lead to his capture and/or execution. The longer he can stay alive and on the run, the more money his family gets as compensation for his sacrifice.
Glen Powell is not just hyped to be a part of Edgar Wright’s vision but to work with the writer/director in general. The Top Gun: Maverick star told the interviewer that it has long been an aspiration to work with the filmmaker behind Shaun Of The Dead, Hot Fuzz and Baby Driver, and now that dream is coming true:
I had a wish list of directors that I wanted to work with in 2008 when I moved out to LA that I sent my agent at the time — and Edgar Wright is literally number one. I’m such an Edgar Wright man. And so, the fact that I get to work with him right now is just so damn cool.
According to Glen Powell, having the opportunity to work with one of his “heroes” means that he is going to really put his all into the making of The Running Man. He expressed pride in his work ethic in general, but he sold himself to Edgar Wright for the project by telling him that he plans on giving the project everything he has. Said Powell,
I made a bit of an 11th-hour plea to him on the job. To just let him know, anybody that’s ever worked with me knows, you’re never going to outbeat my work ethic on stuff. But sometimes it’s just a good reminder for a filmmaker to know, hey, when we get in the trenches, I’m going to serve it up. I’m going to deliver. And I’m going to deliver for you because not only do I take this job seriously, but I’m also just a fan, and you don’t want to disappoint your heroes.
The Running Man starting production in the coming months means that we’re likely going to be hearing a lot more about the project in the coming weeks. We know Michael Bacall (Scott Pilgrim vs The World) is penning the screenplay for the Stephen King adaptation, and Paramount Pictures is producing/distributing, but hopefully we’ll soon learn about release plans and who will be joining Glen Powell in the cast.