According to The Hollywood Reporter, the villain is being lined up for The Running Man. Josh Brolin is in final negotiations to lock horns with Glen Powell’s Ben Richards.
The adaption is rumored to follow the book, written by Richard Bachman (a pen name of Stephen King), more closely than the 1987 adaption. That starred Arnold Schwarzenegger and was directed by Detective Dave Starsky himself, Paul Michael Glaser.
This new version is set up at Paramount Pictures and will be directed by Edgar Wright. He co-wrote the script with Michael Bacall. Katy O’Brian (Loves Lies Bleeding) was recently announced as a co-star, and shooting starts in London as soon as Christmas and the New Year are over.
The 1982 book is set in 2025 in America under a totalitarian regime. The rulers use violent game shows to placate the disenfranchised masses. The biggest of the shows is The Running Man, in which a volunteer agrees to be hunted across the nation. The longer they survive, the more money they win. The catch? After them is a team of elite killers – the hunters – made up of expert military and law enforcement trackers, detectives, and assassins.
One desperate man, needing money for his sick daughter, volunteers as a contestant. This desperate man lasts longer than anyone predicted, and the longer he survives, the closer he comes to exposing the dark secrets at the heart of the show.
The producers have to take action to prevent this from ever happening. Anyone who has read the book knows that the ending stays with you for a while.
Brolin, if he signs, will play the ruthless producer of the game show – Killian. In the book, the role is not the MC and front man from the previous adaption but more of a sinister figure running the whole network.
The Running Man is set to open on November 21st, 2025.