Edgar Wright’s ‘The Running Man’ found Glen Powell’s producer villain

Each new update to The Running Man has me beyond excited for what is to come of Edgar Wright’s take on the Stephen King novel. Glen Powell is set to star as Ben Richards, a desperate man attempting to save his family. Now, he has his villain.

The Running Man was a 1987 film starring Arnold Schwarzenegger but it was, decidedly, different from the novel. Wright’s knew take could be the perfect adaptation that fans have been waiting for. At New York Comic Con during Josh Brolin’s panel, hosted by Collider’s Steve Weintraub, we all learned that Brolin was joining the stacked Wright cast.

The plot is simple: Ben Richards is desperate to earn money to help his sick daughter. He decides to put himself in for a game show to try and provide. Ben ends on up “The Running Man” and he must fight to survive, until he decides to show the show’s dark secrets to the world. Brolin will play a producer of the game. It was previously announced that Powell’s Twisters co-star Katy O’Brian had joined the cast as another contestant on the game show along with Daniel Ezra and Karl Glusman.

Look, I am currently reading The Running Man and cannot put it down. Being busy with New York Comic Con and not able to read it really does hurt because I just want to read it non-stop. It was, however, made better by the fact that I learned of Brolin’s casting while at NYCC with my book in hand.

Outside of the casting, we do not know much else about Wright’s adaptation. He co-wrote the script with Michael Bacall. Edgar Wright, my king and my man, I am available to play Shelia. Just saying.

This movie is shaping up to be something special

There are so many things about this movie that really work for me. Yes, the prospect of Powell in a role like this is fun to think about but as someone who loves Wright’s filmography, I think him tackling a Stephen King adaptation is fantastic. This story is one that still remains timely out of King’s work.

The original novel was set in 2025 (a little too close to home) and features a world where the rich stay rich and the poor can barely survive. Unfortunately, not much else has changed in society and the rich do still get richer in the modern age. Whether Wright and Bacall’s version will be set in 2025 or another future date remains to be seen.

The reality is, I am just excited. It doesn’t matter what I DON’T know or whether or not the Wright and Bacall version will be a more truth adaptation. Honestly, this movie could just be the cast reading the book on screen without any flair or artistic merit and I would be excited. That’s how into this movie I am.

With each new announcement, I am overwhelmed by the need to see The Running Man sooner rather than later and now with the promise of a Brolin/Powell face off? I am locked in.