Directed by Edgar Wright, The Running Man is an upcoming dystopian action-thriller movie starring Glen Powell, Katy O’Brian, Daniel Ezra, and others. The movie is based on a novel of the same name by Stephen King and is going to be the second adaptation of the story. The story follows a man who participates in a violent reality show to win enough money to revive his gravely ill daughter. Numerous hunters are sent to kill him.
In 1987, the book was adapted into a movie directed by Paul Michael Glaser, which starred Arnold Schwarzenegger. Upon release, the movie received mixed reactions from the critics and the audience. But Powell is confident about the upcoming movie, as his excitement was witnessed at the CinemaCon.
Glen Powell says The Running Man is the ‘hardest’ movie he’s worked on
Edgar Wright’s The Running Man is one of the highly anticipated movies of 2025, and its first look was recently shared at CinemaCon as a part of Paramount Pictures’ presentation. The movie stars Glen Powell playing a family guy who decides to participate in a reality game show where the participants try to outrace SWAT teams and drones that are hunting them. The winner gets a cash prize.
Glen Powell, who has managed to impress the audience with his recent work in Anyone But You, Top Gun: Maverick, and Twisters, is very excited for the audience to watch The Running Man. During the presentation, Powell shared with the audience (via Deadline),
Probably what I get for asking Tom Cruise for advice on using a stunt double. Now that I’ve gone through fire, I can say I’ve never worked harder on a movie in my life.
Powell’s confession about The Running Man being the hardest thing he’s had to do reminds us of the fact that he has literally worked with Tom Cruise in Top Gun: Maverick.
Tom Cruise is known for performing his stunts, going through months of vigorous training to make sure he gets his action sequences correct and believable. It comes as no surprise that the actors who worked on Top Gun: Maverick were put under training for months to be able to ace the sequences. The actor mentioned in one of his interviews that he likes to train and perform his own stunts because he wants to give the audience the best experience. Also, the fact that he enjoys pressure adds to that.
The actor also shared that he was not ready for a sequel until they had a good story and technology to help them make a movie that’s level up from the original. At CinemaCon, Glen Powell had shared (via Vulture),
Half of the shots in the movie, I’m literally holding a bag of my puke. Every time we went up there you had to mentally brace for a fight. You get on the ground and you’re exhausted. That’s what is impressive about Tom. He’s flying more than anyone in the movie—he would fly three times a day.
The Mission Impossible actor is dedicated to performing his character in the best way possible for the audience to enjoy and connect to. He believes that the audience is coming to theatres for an experience and he does not want to disappoint them with giving them half-baked action sequences which is why he makes sure not only him but everyone who works with him gives their all.
So, The Running Man might be Powell’s hardest film to date, but the preparation the actors had to do for Top Gun: Maverick is pretty top notch and unmatchable.
Glen Powell reveals he got a ‘full blessing’ from Arnold Schwarzenegger for The Running Man
Anyone but You actor is going to play the character of Ben Richards in The Running Man, a character Arnold Schwarzenegger played in the 1987 film. While speaking with People, Glen Powell shared that he, along with Edgar Wright, had reached out to Schwarzenegger to seek his advice and blessings for their upcoming movie.
Powell said,
Arnold gave us his blessings. His son Patrick Schwarzenegger is a great friend of mine, and I asked Patrick if I could talk to Arnold, I hadn’t seen Arnold since we shot Expendables in Bulgaria.
The actor went on to reveal that Arnold Schwarzenegger gave them his blessings for the movie. Edgar Wright at the CinemaCon shared that The Running Man is going to give the audience somebody to cheer for.
Wright shared during the presentation that he is the director of the movie, but at the same time, he is an audience member too. The filmmaker explained that to make films, one has to be the audience as well. He also expressed that he is excited for the audience to see what they’ve created. (via AOL)
Edgar Wright also added that Glen Powell was the perfect fit for the character of Ben Richards.
The Running Man is scheduled for release on November 7, 2025.
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