Throughout the year, Paramount’s upcoming reboot of Running Man by Edgar Wright has been assembling an impressive cast. Initially, Glen Powell and Katy O’Brian were announced as the leads, followed by the inclusion of Josh Brolin and Lee Pace as the primary antagonists. Recently, it was reported by the Hollywood Reporter that Michael Cera and Emilia Jones have joined the film’s supporting cast. Cera is set to portray an unnamed "naïve rebel" who attempts to assist Powell’s character, Ben Richards, while Jones will take on the role of a privileged woman unaware of the government’s oppression that Richards is battling. The filming is scheduled to commence in London in early 2025, with a release planned later that year.
The film is based on Stephen King’s 1982 sci-fi novel, The Running Man, which is set in a dystopian 2025 under the rule of a totalitarian regime that employs a violent game show to pacify its citizens. The show involves deadly hunters pursuing contestants, with Richards participating to earn money for his ailing daughter. The longer contestants survive, the more money they earn, attracting increased attention from the producers and hunters intent on seeing them lose.
Previously, Running Man was adapted into a 1987 film directed by Paul Michael Glaser and starring Arnold Schwarzenegger. In June, Glen Powell hinted at what sets Wright’s adaptation apart, noting that the new film stays closer to King’s novel, expanding the hunt for Richards beyond the United States. Audiences will be able to see how the two versions compare when Wright’s The Running Man is released in theaters on November 21, 2025.
