Glen Powell, Edgar Wright Push Limits in The Running Man
Nearly four decades after The Running Man first hit the big screen, filmmaker Edgar Wright and actor Glen Powell are taking Stephen King’s 1982 novel back to its roots. Their adaptation promises a darker, more grounded take on the story of Ben Richards—an ordinary man forced into a deadly televised game where the world watches him run for his life.
In this interview, Wright and Powell talk about honoring King’s original vision, building the film’s intense world, and the physical and emotional demands of bringing this brutal, heart-pounding story to life.
Did you read 'The Running Man' novel before taking on this movie adaptation?
Edgar Wright: I had read the original Stephen King book, written as Richard Bachman, when I was a teenager, and around the time I started reading Stephen King books. So the original novel has really stayed with me, its intensity and its themes. And I had read the book before I had seen the 1987 adaptation, which I enjoyed, but even then realized that, oh, this is a very loose adaptation of the book; they barely covered the story. So I knew, as a Stephen King fan, that there was a novel of his that hadn’t really been adapted for the screen.
Over the years, it stuck with me that it was a great kind of sci-fi action adventure. And a big part of it that really stuck with me is the fact that in the book, you stay in Ben’s point of view the entire time and you go on the journey with him. You don’t cut away to other scenes. He doesn’t know what's going on in the rest of the world, only what he sees on TV. And I just thought that was a really strong point of view for the movie. Also the crazy thing is that the Stephen King book, which he wrote in 1972, was set in the year 2025. So the fact that this film is coming out in the last few weeks of 2025 is kind of wild.
Glen Powell plays Ben Richards, an ordinary man forced into a deadly televised game where the world watches him run for his life.
What do you love most about this story?
Wright: I think the key thing that I loved about the book was the character of Ben Richards being an everyman. He wasn’t an established action hero. He’s not a trained killer. He’s a guy off the street. He’s an out-of-work dad who’s trying to provide for his family, and he goes to the Network building out of desperation to make money. This is a guy who’s tough because he’s worked some dangerous jobs, but he’s also fallible. He makes mistakes. He doesn’t always have a plan of action. The idea of seeing the entire film through his eyes and showing it from his point of view was really important.
Tell us about your character in 'The Running Man.'
Glen Powell: I play a character named Ben Richards. At the very beginning of the story, Ben is a guy who is trying to provide for his family. His daughter is incredibly sick, and he leaves the house thinking he’s going to sign up for a game show to try to just get enough money for some medicine for his daughter. He signs up for an unwinnable game show called “The Running Man,” that no one has ever survived. It’s a reality show where the entire world is hunting one man...Amazing, amazing story. I think we all kind of feel like Ben Richards to a degree—an ordinary man against extraordinary odds.
What is it about Glen Powell that’s perfect for the role of Ben Richards?
Wright: I think what’s great about Glen is he’s a proper movie star, but he also is very relatable. He also plays a great everyman. So the idea of having this character at the center of this deadly action just makes it more exciting because you don’t know whether he’s going to survive.
Colman Domingo plays a game show host in The Running Man.
Besides Glen Powell, you have Josh Brolin, Colman Domingo, and many others. What was it like working with this talented cast?
Wright: It was an amazing cast. Because of the nature of the story, people come into the movie and then move out again, and I think it was fun for me and Glen because every week, a different great actor would come in to shoot and create new dynamics. There were the scenes with Glen and Josh Brolin, the scenes with Michael Cera, Colman Domingo, and Lee Pace—it was just a real murderer’s row of a cast, you know?
What was it like working with Edgar Wright?
Powell: Edgar Wright has been one of my favorite filmmakers for as long as I can remember. I don’t know if I’ve ever seen a filmmaker work as hard as Edgar. This movie is so deeply in his head and in his heart. He designed every single frame to make sure it’s a nonstop, wall-to-wall action thrill ride. It’s action-packed, but it’s also funny and heartfelt—it delivers everything that makes movies great. I’m really proud that I get to collaborate on a Stephen King story with one of the great filmmakers, Edgar Wright, and bring one of the greatest stories ever told to life.
"It’s wall-to-wall action. I think it makes it a full cinematic meal. Practically, on every level, this was a really tough movie to shoot," says Powell.
What was it like to film the action scenes?
Wright: The action scenes were very ambitious because we wanted to shoot as much as possible on location and in camera, and to capture everything from his point of view. It required a lot of planning since we wanted Glen to be at the center of much of the action. Some sequences were incredibly complex in the way they played out—for instance, the sequence in the YVA required multiple sets and extensive location work. When it’s all cut together, it looks seamless, but it took weeks and weeks to pull off.
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Ben Richards has to keep running to survive. How did it feel like to step into the world of 'The Running Man'?
Powell: I got to ask Edgar, but I think they said there are 170 sets in this movie. It is unbelievable how many sets they built for this thing. This is the first time that we’re really honoring what Stephen King sort of intended. That is a movie where a man is going out into the world and when the whole world is hunting you, the amount of nooks and crannies of this world that you try to hide in to survive for 30 days is extreme. On a practical level, it’s really, really hard. But it’s also really, really fulfilling for audiences, because you are never bored. It’s wall-to-wall action. I think it makes it a full cinematic meal. Practically, on every level, this was a really tough movie to shoot.
Michael Cera plays Elton Parrakis, a naive rebel who helps Ben Richards (played by Glen Powell)
You mentioned that the film is action-packed. How did you prepare physically and mentally for the film?
Powell: As soon as I put down the script, I knew that shooting this movie was going to be war [smiles]. I knew it was going to be tough. To make an action film like this—where the entire world is hunting one man—was always going to be brutal. The amount of explosions, gunfire, and near-death moments Ben faces means the stakes are life and death, constantly. You know it’s going to be pretty hardcore to shoot—and it was.
Physically, I just wanted to build a body that could withstand what I was going to be put through—and that’s exactly what I did. I told myself, “All right, let’s be sprinting every day, and let’s understand how to sustain something that feels like war,” so I could get through the shoot.
Mentally, anyone who knows me knows how much I love my family and how close I am to them. This job is all about imagination—it’s like asking yourself, if your family were in danger, how far would you go to save them? That’s really what the story is about: a man who signs up for an unwinnable game show to provide for his family. That was the emotional place I lived in every day of the shoot.
Josh Brolin (left) plays an all-powerful TV producer in 'The Running Man'
What would you say is the hardest part about making the movie, and what would be the best thing about it?
Powell: I don’t know if there was one easy day on this movie. I mean, this movie was really, really tough in every single way, because it is life-or-death circumstances, because we are trying to get all the action in camera, the abuse that you take on a day-to-day basis is pretty extreme. But also, I’m getting to collaborate with Edgar Wright, who is one of my favorite filmmakers, Josh Brolin, Colman Domingo, Michael Cera, Lee Pace, William H. Macy—I mean, it is a stacked cast. Everybody delivers. So it is a dream to be out in front of a movie like this. To put on the boots of Ben Richards and to sign up for this ride has been literally a dream come true. It doesn’t mean that it’s not hard and that it doesn’t come with some taxing elements. But I got to say, across the board, it’s like, when you start this journey and you leave to go to Hollywood and go, “I want to give this job a shot,” this is the kind of movie I dream of making. So it’s as cool as it gets.
What can audiences expect from 'The Running Man'?
Powell: When you buy a ticket for The Running Man, take your friends, take your family. It is such a fun communal experience, because it is wall-to-wall action. It’s action-packed but it’s also fun. It’s got great heart to it, great performances, great actors. The world is dynamic, it’s relevant. It’s a story that I think we can all identify with, a story of ordinary people against extraordinary odds taking on the big bully. It’s why you go to the movies.
Wright: You know, at heart, it’s an entertaining sci-fi action thrill ride, but if it gives you something to chew on on the way home, then great.
