Edgar Wright’s Running Man Remake Can Fix Stephen King’s Biggest Issue With The Original

Edgar Wright is working on a remake of Arnold Schwarzenegger’s The Running Man, and the new version can fix author Stephen King’s biggest issue with the first adaptation. The Running Man was one of many novels King wrote until the pseudonym Richard Bachman, which also includes The Long Walk and Thinner. He also claims to have penned The Running Man within a week, with the story involving a man who takes part in a sadistic reality show where he must evade a group of killers; if he survives, he’ll receive a huge cash prize.

The book was optioned before the producers even realized Bachman was actually King, and they made huge changes to the source material. Instead of being a month-long chase around the country, the movie places Schwarzenegger’s hero and other contestants inside an abandoned part of L.A. and sets WWE-style “stalkers” on them. The film suffered a troubled production, going through several filmmakers – with The Fugitive’s Andrew Davis being fired early into the shoot – and it was only a modest hit. It’s not one of Schwarzenegger’s better action movies either, but The Running Man’s predictions about the rise of reality TV seem eerily on point now.

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Why The Running Man Is The WEIRDEST Stephen King Adaptation

The Running Man is the weirdest Stephen King adaptation, with lots of Arnold Schwarzenegger quips, and different from the bleak Richard Bachman novel.

Stephen King Disliked Arnold Schwarzenegger’s Casting In The 1987 Running Man Movie

King was never shy when it came to expressing his opinions on the film adaptations of his work, and famously hated Stanley Kubrick’s The Shining. Needless to say, King wasn’t happy with the changes made to The Running Man, with the Arnold film bearing little resemblance to the book outside of the basic concept. Arguably his biggest problem was the casting of Schwarzenegger himself. In King’s novel, Ben Richards is a scrawny everyman trying desperately to save his wife and child; in the movie, he’s a musclebound, cigar-chomping badass with a compulsion towards bad one-liners.

In The Bachman Books, King himself stated the protagonist of his story was “as far away from the Arnold Schwarzenegger character in the movie as you can get.” Producers assumed they could slap King’s name on The Running Man’s poster too, but unhappy with the myriad changes, the author refused. Thus, the movie’s poster and subsequent home releases have credited the novel to “Richard Bachman.”

Edgar Wright’s Running Man Remake Can Finally Do King’s Novel Justice

In 2021, it was confirmed Wright was developing a Running Man remake. In October 2023, producer Simon Kinberg confirmed that the project was coming along nicely, and could be ready to start filming in 2024. Wright’s Running Man is said to be more faithful to King’s novel, and will almost certainly feature a more “everyman” take on Ben Richards. While King used to be salty about his movie adaptations, he’s mellowed greatly in recent years and has even given his blessing to the critically drubbed likes of prequel Pet Sematary: Bloodlines.

Wright directing a faithful version of The Running Man will by definition alone result in a very different film. When Arnie came onboard the 1987 film, it was tailored to his star persona, but King’s story is a bleak, almost despairing tale set in a ruined world in the year 2025. Wright’s adaptation would probably have to soften the harder edges of the source text to make it palatable for modern viewers, but it’s almost certain the author will prefer Wright’s version.