It would be fair to say that, by and large, Stephen King adaptations can be a little hit or miss — for every Carrie (1976) there is also a Carrie (2013). But 2025 has been something of a banner year for fresh book-to-screen takes on King’s work, with The Monkey, The Life Of Chuck, and The Long Walk all coming in hot as very good riffs on their literary counterparts. It’s a trend that looks set to continue in some style with Edgar Wright’s hotly anticipated The Running Man, the latest adaptation of King’s (well, Richard Bachman’s) 1982 dystopian deathmatch book and a film that’s set to see Glen Powell step into the running shoes of Ben Richards, Arnold Schwarzenegger’s character from the cult classic 1987 movie. Check out the high-octane new trailer below;
To paraphrase a certain Alabaman film icon, “He is RUN-NING!” If you’re coming to Edgar Wright’s retooling of King’s book looking for a balls-to-the-wall, propulsive action-thriller with a banging soundtrack and a cast of fully loaded charisma cannons (Josh Brolin! Colman Domingo! Katy O’Brian! GP himself!) then you’ve come to the right place. And if you’re coming to The Running Man because you’ve seen Glen Powell in Hit Man and Chad Powers and just think that he’s really, really good at playing charismatic dudes donning goofy disguises then… well… yeah, Wright’s film has you covered too. But honestly, yer man Edgar’s first film since 2021 psychological chiller Last Night In Soho does look ace, balancing blood pumping spectacle with heartfelt familial drama as Powell’s Ben Richards tries to outrun Hunters, win a fat wedge, and get back to his wife and kids — all while TV cameras follow his every move.
Are we destined to look back on 2025 as the king of cinematic Kings? Will Glen Powell once again win the day while wearing a wig and pretending to be somebody else? Is Michael Cera with a supersoaker the deadliest villain of the piece after all? We’ll find out when The Running Man hits cinemas on 14 November. Race you there!
