Glen Powell is running towards us even faster than we thought possible as his upcoming thriller The Running Man has just shifted its release date. Originally penciled in to open on November 21, 2025, the movie has very wisely decided to move two weeks earlier. The film was set to open opposite Wicked: For Good, but given how popular Wicked has been, that seems like a folly, so Paramount will take advantage of some IMAX exclusivity. Directed by Edgar Wright, Powell leads an ensemble which will also feature Josh Brolin (Sicario), Katy O’Brian (Love Lies Bleeding), Lee Pace (Guardians of the Galaxy), Emilia Jones (Locke & Key) and Michael Cera (Bluth Banana Stand). Cera is meant to be playing one of the rebels who decides to leave his other priorities to the side in order to help Powell’s desperate character, while Jones is playing “a privileged woman blind to the oppression of the government opposite Powell’s Richards.”
Based on a novel by Stephen King, the story was first told in 1987, very loosely, with Arnold Schwarzenegger starring in the film that took on a more high-octane, sci-fi flair. Wright’s take on the story will most likely stick to the dystopia that is very present in King’s writings, focusing on a more oppressive atmosphere. He will also co-write the screenplay with his Scott Pilgrim vs. the World collaborator Michael Bacall (21 Jump Street), and produce alongside Simon Kinberg and Nira Park. Production on the film has already begun, with shooting having taken place across the United Kingdom in the last month or so.
What is ‘The Running Man’ About?
Rather than a straight-up remake of the Schwarzenegger movie, the 2025 iteration will draw from Stephen King’s 1982 novel (written under the pseudonym Richard Bachman), in which a grim and dank portrayal of a dystopian America is presented to the reader. In the story, the public, who are totally weighed down by poverty, are shown extreme violent game shows but they’ve grown increasingly numb to them. We follow Ben Richards, a desperate father, who enters The Running Man, a ruthless game show where contestants are pursued across the nation by mercenaries and everyday citizens. The goal? Stay alive long enough to claim increasingly massive rewards. Sounds easy enough. What’s the worst that could happen?
The Running Man is set to open in theaters on November 7, 2025. If you want to get a taste of the previous adaptation, Arnold Schwarzenegger’s The Running Man is currently streaming on Paramount+ With Showtime. Stay tuned for updates on the highly anticipated return to King’s dystopian universe.
The Running Man
A man competes in a game show where killers hunt contestants as they move freely around the world. This movie, directed by Edgar Wright, is the second big-screen adaptation of the novel written by Stephen King under his pen name, Richard Bachman.
- Release Date
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November 21, 2025
- Director
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Edgar Wright
- Writers
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Edgar Wright
Watch on Paramount+ With Showtime
