Glen Powell probably isn’t the first person you’d think of to replace Arnold Schwarzenegger, but then they do share a bit of a connection. Both are, after all, members of The Expendables. Trust me, I forgot Powell was in The Expendables 3, too. But now, Powell will get a chance to take on a role made famous by Schwarzenegger, as he’ll play Ben Richards in Edgar Wright’s remake of The Running Man.
The news emerged out of CinemaCon that Powell will star in Wright’s new version of the Stephen King book (under his Richard Bachman pen name), which was adapted into a classic 1987 movie. Wright’s film will be more faithful to the book, though, and take place in a dystopian future where the economy is in ruins, and people compete in deadly reality competition shows to win money. Richards enters the contest to win money to save his sick daughter, but can only win if he survives a night against the Hunters, an elite pack of hitmen sent to kill him.
The movie is pretty campy but the book is dark, violent, and very serious. It’ll be interesting to see if Wright sticks with that tone or brings some of the light-hearted humor he’s known for. Powell is also an actor whose charm and big personality speak to a film with more humor than the book offers.
Powell is coming off the huge success of rom-com Anyone But You with Sydney Sweeney. He’ll be seen next in Richard Linklater’s action-comedy Hit Man (review here) which is genuinely terrific, and this summer in the blockbuster sequel, Twisters.
Watch my loving video tribute to The Running Man below!
