1987’s The Running Man is arguably the least faithful Stephen King adaptation, but it was nonetheless one of Arnold Schwarzenegger’s biggest movies from that decade. So naturally there are people who will wonder what he thinks of the new take on The Running Man, which is already getting early positive buzz. Well, we can count Schwarzenegger among the supporters of Edgar Wright’s adaptation of King’s 1982 novel. Not only did he previously describe The Running Man as “incredible,” you can now see him giving his blessing to the filmmaker and its lead actor, Glen Powell, on the upcoming 2025 movie.
Wright shared the big moment on Instagram, with the video you’ll see below showing Arnold Schwarzenegger commending him and Powell for how their adaptation of The Running Man “upped” what he did nearly 40 years ago:
It’s high praise for Arnold Schwarzenegger to praise the new Running Man for being an improvement over his version. As the Terminator actor says at the beginning of the video, The Running Man is the only one of his movies he’s wanted to see “redone,” and it was done quite successfully in his eyes. He thought the action was “unbelievable and creative,” and especially got a kick out of the $100 bills used in this dystopic future. That’s because that have Schwarzenegger’s face plastered on them as a fun Easter egg, which was noticeable in the first trailer for The Running Man.
On that note (pun intended), Edgar Wright and Glen Powell ended their conversation with Arnold Schwarzenegger by giving him a blown-up copy of one of the $100 bills. I hope that the man who played Ben Richards in 1987 finds a special place to put that up in his home or another location of his choosing. That’s way too big a gift, figuratively and literally, to just sit in some corner gathering dust.
This footage of Arnold Schwarzenegger throwing his support behind The Running Man comes exactly one week until the movie is released. This time around, Glen Powell is playing Ben Richards, who competing in the same-named popular TV show to obtain money for his sick daughter. However, the only way Ben can win the full cash reward is if he survives 30 days of being hunted by professional assassins.
In addition to directing, Edgar Wright co-wrote The Running Man’s script with Michael Bacall. Glen Powell’s castmates include Josh Brolin, Colman Domingo, William H. Macy, Lee Pace, Michael Cera, Emilia Jones and Jayme Lawson, among others. The Running Man hits theaters on Friday, November 14.