Director Edgar Wright, known for such cult classics as Scott Pilgrim vs. The World, Shaun of the Dead, and Baby Driver, is now tackling a major next project in adapting Stephen King’s 1982 novel The Running Man for Paramount, according to Deadline. The novel has already been once adapted in 1987 and starred Arnold Schwarzenegger, but this newest adaptation will be much more loyal to the source material according to Wright and co-writer Michael Bacall.
The novel is set in the year 2025, during a time when the United States is rife with instability and violence under a totalitarian regime. The story follows Ben Richards who in desperation to pay for the care of his sick daughter turns to a government-run TV station that specializes in game shows. The show that the network selects for him to participate in is only the most dangerous program, The Running Man, in which the contestant is chased by a group of elite hitmen called Hunters. Money is earned for how long he can go without capture, how many Hunters or members of law enforcement he kills, with the grand prize being $1 billion if he can last a full 30 days.
Wright is no stranger to action packed films, and even stepped into the horror genre as well with his upcoming film, Last Night in Soho. He’s also dabbled in sci-fi with 2013’s The World’s End, and is sure to bring his unique sense of comedic timing, vibrant filmmaking, and fun music into this newest project.
Wright has kept very busy these last few years, with his documentary The Sparks Brothers fresh out of Sundance, Last Night in Soho having been rescheduled to now be placed later this year, and multiple other projects on the horizon including a potential Baby Driver sequel.
Stephen King’s novel adaptations have equally been hot commodities recently, with It and It: Chapter 2 being a success at the box office, followed by Pet Sematary, Doctor Sleep, and TV series The Outsider and The Stand.
No estimated release date has yet been given for The Running Man, though Deadline says it is taking a priority slot in development at Paramount.
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