Glen Powell has a new running mate. Josh Brolin will star alongside Powell in Edgar Wright‘s upcoming remake of The Running Man. Brolin revealed the news at his panel at New York Comic Con today, alongside Collider‘s own Steve Weintraub.
Long in the works, The Running Man will adapt the dystopian 1982 novel that Stephen King originally published under the alias Richard Bachman. It centers around a crumbling near-future United States where the population is kept entertained by brutally violent TV shows, including the titular The Running Man, in which a contestant must survive for thirty days while evading government-sanctioned hitmen. Powell will star as Ben Richards, a desperate man who becomes the most successful contestant in the show’s history. In addition to Powell and Brolin, the film will also star Powell‘s Twisters castmate, Love Lies Bleeding breakout Katy O’Brian; All-American star Daniel Ezra and The Bikeriders‘ Karl Glusman will also co-star. In addition to directing, Wright will also co-write the film’s script with Michael Bacall (21 Jump Street).
What Else Is Josh Brolin Starring In?
Brolin has a busy release calendar over the next few years. After reprising his role as Gurney Halleck in Dune: Part Two earlier this year, he can next be seen in Brothers, which premieres on Amazon Prime Video today. Directed by Palm Springs‘ Max Barbakow, the film stars Brolin and Peter Dinklage as a pair of mismatched twin brothers who embark on a road trip to find a fortune in emeralds hidden by their long-estranged mother (Glenn Close). Coming up next year is Wake Up Dead Man, the third installment of Rian Johnson‘s Benoit Blanc murder mystery series that began with Knives Out. Brolin will star as Father Frank, a priest, alongside Daniel Craig‘s Southern-fried private detective. Brolin is also set to star in Weapons, the next horror film from Barbarian director Zach Cregger. Plot and character details are being kept under wraps for now, but Brolin will star alongside Julia Garner, Alden Ehrenreich, and Benedict Wong. He is also developing a film that he intends to be his feature directorial debut.
This won’t be the first time The Running Man has been adapted for the big screen. In 1987, Arnold Schwarzenegger starred in an extremely loose adaptation of the novel that kept the basic premise of a deadly gameshow in a dystopian future, but amped it up into a high-octane action romp. It pitted Richards against a number of supervillain-style foes, including the hockey-themed Professor Sub-Zero and the electric Dynamo, plus real-life Family Feud host Richard Dawson. Wright‘s adaptation promises to be more faithful to the source material.
The Running Man is slated to begin filming later this year, and is slated to be released on November 21, 2025.
via Collider