Edgar Wright’s The Running Man remake could hit the perfect release date – but it’s rapidly running out of time. The original Running Man movie was based on a Stephen King story, which was penned under his pseudonym Richard Bachman. King declined to put his name on the 1987 adaptation, however, as the Arnold Schwarzenegger film bore little resemblance to the source material, aside from the title and basic premise. The Running Man is a fun, campy action ride, though it’s not considered one of Arnold Schwarzenegger’s better action movies.
Part of the movie’s legacy is that it predicted the rise of gaudy reality TV shows, as Arnie’s Ben Richards is forced to take part in the titular survival series where he’s chased by WWE-style hunters. The book is very different, with Richards agreeing to take part in the show to save his wife and child, with The Running Man being a fugitive series run by the government where he must evade hunters for a full month. It’s a more despairing tale that ends on a bleak note, and Edgar Wright’s upcoming Running Man remake will be a more faithful take on King’s tale.
Why Stephen King Disliked Arnold Schwarzenegger’s Running Man Movie
In 1987, Arnold Schwarzenegger starred in an adaptation of Stephen King’s “Richard Bachman” novel The Running Man, but King’s not a fan of the movie.
Edgar Wright’s Running Man Remake Should Release In 2025
Stephen King’s book is set in 2025
King wrote the story at the height of his various addictions, and claims to have penned the whole book in one week. King’s Running Man is set in the grim future of 2025, where the world economy has crashed and America has fallen into ruin.
King wrote the book in 1982, when 2025 felt like a long way away, and sounded suitably futuristic. Over 40 years later, 2025 is rapidly approaching, and it would be a nice piece of synchronicity for Wright’s Running Man to be released that year.
Will Wright’s Running Man Movie Be Ready For 2025?
Wright’s remake may start production in 2024
Of course, The Running Man is unlikely to rush into production simply so it can be ready for 2025. That said, Wright has been working on the project since 2021, and producer Simon Kinberg has stated the new version is coming along very well. Judging by comments he made to /Film in October 2023, Wright’s Running Man may be ready to start filming in 2024.
Since the success of IT Chapter One in 2017, there’s been a renewed glut of Stephen King movie adaptations. Some of these have been better than others, but even the mediocre efforts still tend to meet with financial success. The Running Man’s premise means it will have a bigger scale than the typical King adaptation too, and there’s little doubt Wright’s film will be superior to the cult Arnie film. Judging by Kinberg’s comments, The Running Man arriving in 2025 not only sounds realistic, but likely. That said, if the film isn’t filming by mid-2024, it might miss this perfect release date opportunity.
