“The Running Man” was co-written, produced & directed by Edgar Wright, is based on the 1982 Stephen King novel of the same name & is a remake of the 1987 film that starred Arnold Schwarzenegger. The film stars Glen Powell, Josh Brolin, Colman Domingo, Lee Pace, Michael Cera & William H. Macy. Paramount announced development on the film would begin in 2021 after Wright & Michael Bacall already wrote a screenplay based on the original novel. Wright & Bacall previously worked together on 2010’s “Scott Pilgrim VS. The World” which also starred Michael Cera.
In the future, a media corporation simply known as “The Network”, runs the world into the ground as a majority of the population live in poverty with little to no access to healthcare or any other supply chains. People make their money with odds jobs but the quickest way to make money are game shows that are ultra violent but pay top dollar. The most popular game show is “The Running Man”, 3 fairly ordinary, down on their luck people must survive being hunted a team highly skilled hitmen for 30 days to win a 10 figure cash prize. Ben Richards (Powell) is disgruntled labor man who has been fired from his third job & becomes desperate for cash when his young daughter needs emergency care. He accepts to join The Running Man and is then selected as one of the 3 contestants. At the show, Ben meets the show’s host, Bobby Thompson (Domingo) & The Network’s CEO, Dan Killian (Brolin) who wish him well. As the game begins, Ben quickly realizes that small manipulations have put into the game such as fake progress reports & tampered live feeds. Now, Ben must fend off the hunters for 30 days in order to save his family from a corrupt corporate entity that hell bend for ratings.
I was a huge fan of the original but the last they tried to remake an Arnold classic, 2012’s “Total Recall”, it didn’t go so well. However, this film was much more entertaining. This film had some great action sequences that felt more modern while the acting was a bit over the top, it served its purpose and made the film more tongue and cheek, which is what the made original great. Glen Powell was great the lead and really shows he can be an action star. He’s been charming & charismatic in other films but this film was action based & he placed front & center as the hero. Josh Brolin plays a solid villain but doesn’t appear as much. Colman Domingo is charismatic as the host & reminds me of Samuel L. Jackson’s character in the 2014 remake of “RoboCop”. The movie is full of 90s cheesy action moments & solid performances that make it much entertaining than your standard action film of the current landscape.
Paramount originally planned for Chris Evans for the lead role but that never came to fruition. Glen Powell was bought on after the success of the 2024 disaster film, “Twisters”. The film hit theaters nationwide on November 14th, 2025 but saw a below average return at the box office. The film then landed on the streaming platform, Paramount+ on January 26th, 2026.