“Crying Out To Be Adapted”: Why Edgar Wright Is Remaking A 1980s Stephen King Movie

Director Edgar Wright has explained why he’s remaking the classic Stephen King movie The Running Man, which he believes would be perfect if adapted from the book. Written by King under the pseudonym Richard Bachman, the dystopian thriller was adapted into a movie of the same name starring Arnold Schwarzenegger. While the film is a well-remembered sci-fi classic, its content is only loosely based on the author’s original work.

Speaking with Josh Horowitz on the Happy Sad Confused podcast, Wright talked about his remake of The Running Man, revealing why he believes the story deserves another adaptation.

Starting at 46:12, the director confirmed he wants to make his version closer to King’s original story, which he believes would make for a good cinematic experience. Check out what Wright had to say below:

In terms of things that I’ve been, like, The Running Man, which 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.’ Now, that doesn’t mean that it’s easy! [Laughs] But it’s something that we are working on, yes. I’ll tell you that much.

How Different Will The Running Man Remake Be?

Both versions of The Running Man focus on protagonist Ben Richards, someone who participates in a competition of the same name. The original film version presents a main character and his group of comrades imprisoned and forced into the game, trying to take down the company behind it while attempting to win. The book, however, sees Ben willingly participate, running across America on his own so he can win and earn money for his family.

While The Running Man‘s dystopian battle is similar in both versions, the film rendition offered a much more hopeful story than the bleaker novel. Wright’s decision to adapt the book with more faithfulness in his version underscores just how much darker and isolating the remake is going to feel. This means even those familiar with the Schwarzenegger-led movie will have a new experience when watching the new adaptation.

While the new version of The Running Man won’t add to Schwarzenegger’s sci-fi movie stardom, Wright promises a rendition unfamiliar to those who saw the original movie. It’s possible his version of the story will end up becoming just as well-remembered as the 1987 original. With the film now in active development, it may not be long before more details about the faithful adaptation are revealed.