Stephen King Breaks Silence On Divisive Sci-Fi Remake’s New Ending

This post contains spoilers for The Running Man

When Edgar Wright set out to make The Running Man, the idea was to craft a film adaptation that was more faithful to the original Stephen King novel than the classic 1980s Arnold Schwarzenegger vehicle. That said, like any screen adaptation of a published work, this new take on The Running Man made some changes to the source material. Arguably Wright’s most notable alteration was conceiving a new ending for the story. In the book, protagonist Ben Richards crashes a plane into Game Network HQ. Since this imagery would have evoked memories of the September 11 attacks, Wright changed things for his film. He previously shared King approved of the new ending, and now King himself has shared his thoughts.

Speaking with Entertainment Weekly, King offered his praise for The Running Man‘s new ending. “I like the ending of Edgar’s version of The Running Man very much,” he said. “Can’t say too much — spoilers — but I think readers of the novel will be satisfied because they get to have it both ways. If you see what I mean, and I’m betting you do.”

The Running Man Earned Mixed Reviews (and the Ending Is a Sticking Point)

In the months leading up to The Running Man‘s premiere, there was much excitement for the film considering Wright’s knack for delivering wildly entertaining genre movies. Initial reactions were very positive, but the full reviews painted a slightly different picture. Though The Running Man still has a Fresh critics score on Rotten Tomatoes, the 63% mark is the lowest of Wright’s career. Though people praised Wright’s eye for creative action and Glen Powell’s performance, the general consensus was The Running Man wasn’t as great as it could have been. Some feel the ending was a misstep.

As King teases, The Running Man attempts to let audiences have their cake and eat it too. Wright came up with a finale where Running Man (the in-universe show) producer Dan Killian gets his deserved comeuppance (just like the character dies in the book) and Ben Richards gets a happy reunion with his family. Shifting away from the novel’s more tragic conclusion (where Richards dies in the fiery plane crash) is fine; Wright has always been one to end his films on an upbeat note. The issue some people have is the execution, particularly the bit where the movie stops and supporting character The Apostle appears to explain how it all went down. One can see what Wright was going for, but he arguably didn’t stick the landing.

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Interestingly, The Running Man isn’t the only Stephen King adaptation this year to change its ending. Director Francis Lawrence crafted a new finale for The Long Walk, a film that was much better received than The Running Man. There are those who feel The Long Walk‘s ending is an improvement over the book, as it strongly ties into the story’s themes and is in line with the bleak, dystopian tone of the world. The Running Man has a much larger scope than The Long Walk, but they’re cut from similar cloth in the sense that they’re about people competing in a live-or-death reality shown overseen by an authoritarian government. On the surface, the premise of The Running Man is as bleak and dystopian as The Long Walk. This could be why some people feel a disconnect with Wright’s film. The finale takes things in an optimistic and feel-good direction when it might have fit better if Richards perished during his time on the game show.

While opinions will vary on The Running Man‘s ending, it’s still nice to see King give it a thumbs up. Fans of the author know he doesn’t mince words when he dislikes an adaptation of one of his novels, so it’s notable to see him praise Wright’s version of The Running Man. Of course, with the film a new release, King probably wouldn’t say anything too negative (which could impact box office figures), but perhaps his seal of approval will encourage people to check The Running Man out in theaters.

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