- calendar_today August 19, 2025
Edgar Wright’s Running Man Is the Adaptation Fans Wanted
The Running Man, an adaptation of Stephen King’s dystopian novel of the same name, is coming in 2025. This is according to a newly released trailer that confirms Edgar Wright’s (Baby Driver, Last Night in Soho) plans to adapt the film from King’s original novel of the same name.
Paramount Pictures has just released the first official trailer for The Running Man (2025), directed by Edgar Wright. This will be a new film adaptation of Stephen King’s dystopian thriller novel. That story was written under his pen name, Richard Bachman, and originally published in 1982.
In many ways, The Running Man will be more than a new film adaptation. It is also a reboot from the original version, which was an action film in 1987 starring Arnold Schwarzenegger.
King published The Running Man in 1982 under his Bachman pen name. He used that pseudonym throughout the late 1970s and early 1980s to release several books, including The Long Walk, Roadwork, The Running Man, and The Long Walk. King was “outed” as the author in 1984, the year after Running Man was released.
The Running Man was one of those Bachman books that King continued to revere over the years, and he seemed to have a fun time writing it. King famously wrote the original novel in just one week.
The story takes place in the United States, which has now become a dystopian totalitarian country in the year 2025. The country is experiencing economic decline, but citizens still have access to television. However, this small reprieve is not without a catch. A violent game show is filling airwaves and keeping the nation entertained.
The show pits contestants, or Runners, against a team of professional assassins, or Hunters. The action is broadcast live for an audience with a sick and voyeuristic appetite for violence.
The format of the show is simple. If the Runner can last 30 days, they win $1 billion. The odds are not in the contestant’s favor. The longest anyone has lasted is 197 hours. However, there are smaller monetary rewards for every hour a contestant can last. There is also an incentive for each Hunter the contestant can take out. The bonuses are the only incentive to play, as the Runners are there to die, and desperation is the most common reason contestants play.
Ben Richards does better than expected as a contestant. But as King fans will recall, there is no such thing as a happy ending in a King novel.
Image Via Paramount Pictures
When the film version of The Running Man was made in 1987, the movie was a fairly wild departure from the original work. While it kept the general concept of the deadly game show, The Running Man (1987) leans heavily into science fiction with big action and the kind of loud and fun ‘80s flourishes that Schwarzenegger was known for.
The film The Running Man was loud, chaotic, gaudy, and filled with little nods to science fiction and massive firepower. The new trailer is not much of a departure in some ways, but in other ways, it’s entirely different. The new film may be able to tackle both the action side and some of the social commentary and themes of the story while keeping true to the spirit of King’s original story.
Wright has been attached to the project since 2017, when he first signaled that he would like to adapt the novel. In 2021, Paramount moved forward with The Running Man, with Wright and co-writer Michael Bacall on board. The announcement was big for two reasons. The first was that the project had been in development for a long time. The second was that Wright would be producing under the moniker Clubhouse Pictures.
Image Via Paramount Pictures
The newly released trailer for The Running Man promises a lot of the bleak action of King’s novel. It’s centered around Glen Powell, who is the movie’s version of Ben Richards. Powell is known for his charming on-screen presence, which he sets aside for the gritty and dire performance in the film.
Josh Brolin stars as Dan Killian, who is a producer for The Running Man in the film. Killian is the kind of back-slapping, American capitalist douche who chases Richards around. Ben Richards becomes a real threat to the state when the audience takes an interest in him.
Lee Pace is the lead Hunter in the show, playing Evan McCone. Jayme Lawson is Richard’s wife, Sheila, and Colman Domingo hosts the game as Bobby Thompson. The film also stars Michael Cera as Bradley Throckmorton.
A New Year for Bachman?
Fans of Bachman-era King may also be excited to hear that another of the author’s dystopian competition novels is in development. The Long Walk, which was published by King in 1979, also has a new film adaptation that has been released. It is set to hit theaters on September 12, 2025, which is only a few months before Running Man (2025) will hit theaters on November 7, 2025.
The Long Walk and The Running Man both have similar themes of state violence and cruelty, media exploitation and manipulation, and the cost of staying alive. 2025 is shaping up to be a big year for fans of King’s Bachman stories.
A Busy Year for Stephen King Fans
If you are a fan of the books, the big year for these movies might be just the ticket. However, this might be a big year for people who are thinking about capitalism, entertainment, and the tenacity of empathy.
