Edgar Wright’s The Running Man is finally off to the races as it premiered its first footage during Paramount Pictures’ CinemaCon presentation that took place on Friday.
Wright and lead Glen Powell graced the Caesars Palace’s Colosseum stage, along with Colman Domingo and Josh Brolin, for a spirited discussion about the Stephen King novel adaptation as well as introducing never-before-seen footage from the feature. The novel was published in 1982 under King’s pseudonym Richard Bachman. This dystopian story, set in a United States in 2025, follows a distressed father named Ben Richards who needs money to help his ailing daughter. As his solution, Ben “joins a popular show titled The Running Man, in which teams of killers hunt down contestants. The longer a contestant survives, the more money that person makes. But as the game show’s producers and killers will find out, the man is keen to break all the rules and expose the show’s dark secrets.”
There was a previous film adaptation released in 1987, directed by Paul Michael Glaser and starring Arnold Schwarzenegger as Richards. That adaptation found Richards as a “falsely convicted policeman” who can get out of prison by taking part in the horrific game show.
Co-CEO of Paramount, Brian Robbins, was the introducer for the event and only had great words to say, claiming that he expects the feature to “be the runaway hit of November,” adding that Wright was the motive behind Robbins wanting to make the adaptation. Wright, who had been a longtime fan of the novel since he was in his teens, stated that there is a story in the novel that hasn’t been put to screen yet, so that is what he honed in on for this reboot, which Powell describes as “nothing short of extraordinary.” He continues to describe the feature as a “full meal” of things that the audience will love.
The never-before-seen footage included Powell, worn down, looking hopeless regarding the case with his daughter. He then meets Brolin’s character, who says, “He’s aware of the family crisis at play.” The pair get into a heated debate, with Powell’s Ben stating, “I’m not trying to get myself killed, so kiss my ass twice.” Brolin answers this by saying, “Right there is why you can win this game.” Intertwined are cuts of Domingo appearing as the host on stage in a purple velvet tuxedo and recounting the events.
Brolin will be playing Dan Killian, the producer of the game show, seemingly the main villain of the feature, as Brolin describes him to be “maniacal” but so exciting to play. Domingo will portray Bobby Thompson, the host of the game show. William H. Macy, Lee Pace, Michael Cera, Katy O’Brian, and Daniel Ezra round out the ensemble.
The Running Man is set to release in theaters on November 7th, 2025.
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