The Running Man trailer is finally here, giving us our first glimpse of Glen Powell as the reality TV star turned desperate fugitive Ben Richards. This near-future dystopian story is based on a 1982 novel by Stephen King, and it’s getting the Hollywood treatment with an A-list cast under the careful direction of Edgar Wright. The movie’s promotion has been ramping up steadily in recent weeks, and now with a full-length trailer, it finally feels close at hand. Sadly, we will have to wait quite a while for more. The Running Man hits theaters on November 7th in the U.S.
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Powell definitely appears to be lithe and fast enough to live up to this movie’s title, but there’s more to his story than simply running. The Running Man is set in a dystopian time when the global economy has collapsed and the U.S. government has been overtaken by totalitarian forces. They assert their dominance and placate the masses at the same time with a reality TV show called The Running Man, in which contestants become fugitives from the law in exchange for a cash prize.
This trailer definitely shows a more faithful adaptation of the premise than the 1987 film adaptation did, but some of the details are still unclear. We know that Powell must evade the show’s designated “hunters,” as well as the authorities and military, and we know that the general public is incentivized to turn him in. Still, there are some dissidents willing to shelter him — perhaps in the hope of using his platform to advance their causes.
Published back in 1982, The Running Man is one of the most grim dystopian novels King has ever written. It was published under his pen name, Richard Bachman, and the 1987 film adaptation starring Arnold Schwarzenegger took a lot of liberties, turning the story into more of an action thriller. Interestingly, the novel was set in the year 2025, which is just one of the reasons this is an appropriate time for a remake.
An adaptation of another of King’s “Bachman books” is hitting theaters this fall as well — The Long Walk. Both novels employ the near-future dystopian setting where the U.S., and now that both have trailers, we can begin to compare and contrast them. The Long Walk hits theaters on September 12th, followed by The Running Man on November 7th. Both books are available now in print, digital, and audiobook formats.
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