Once again, Stephen King’s novel that inspired the 1987 Arnold Schwarzenegger film, The Running Man, is making a comeback to the big screen. Despite the earlier adaptation’s stumble, can this revival hit the mark? Edgar Wright, the director originally slated for the Ant-Man movie before Peyton Reed stepped in, is the one reviving it this time around. And he intends to make it right!
Edgar Wright’s Update on The Running Man Remake
The famous 1982 novel by Stephen King, The Running Man, narrates a tale of a grim future where contestants on a reality show fight for survival while the public is incentivized to kill them for rewards. A remake for Paramount has been in the talks for a while now, and the director Edgar Wright has been attached to the project since 2021.
Thus recently, when Wright joined Josh Horowitz on his Happy Sad Confused podcast, he disclosed his game plan to the audience and provided an update on the project. He revealed,
“’The Running Man’ is something that is in active development-Why is that interesting to me? It’s like, I like the film but I like the book more, and they didn’t really adapt the book. Even as a teenager when I saw the Schwarzenegger film I was like, ‘Oh, this isn’t like the book at all!’ And I think, ‘Nobody’s done that book.’ So when that came up, I was thinking, and Simon Kinberg says, ‘Do you have any interest in ‘The Running Man?’ I said, ‘You know what? I’ve often thought that that book is something crying out to be adapted.’”
He revealed that it certainly wouldn’t be a remake of the Arnold Schwarzenegger movie, instead, he stated that it would be a more faithful adaptation of the book by Stephen King himself. He acknowledged that this wouldn’t be an easy task but expressed his determination to give it a try. Fans are hopeful.
Also Read: 6 Sylvester Stallone Movies That Should’ve Cast Arnold Schwarzenegger Instead
Why Didn’t Arnold Schwarzenegger’s The Running Man Work?
Although many enjoy the 1987 movie, they can’t deny that The Running Man stands out as one of the most peculiar adaptations of Stephen King’s works. It encompasses everything from explosions to cruising in dune buggies, with bonus trademark Arnold Schwarzenegger on the side. However, still, the movie lacked the essence that King’s book had.
While Stephen King’s book underscores the banality of the vicious games played, the film transforms the entire spectacle into an overjoyed, over-the-top action extravaganza. In the end, the movie adaptation is nothing more than a dramatically gleeful, cheesy action flick, filled with explosions and theatrics.
Edgar Wright, among many others, and surprisingly even Stephen King, believes that the movie deviated significantly from the novel it was based on and that is one of the main reasons for its subsequent failure.
