The Running Man (2025)

Stitch

Stitch

Member


In a near-future society, The Running Man is the top-rated show on television—a deadly competition where contestants, known as Runners, must survive 30 days while being hunted by professional assassins, with every move broadcast to a bloodthirsty public and each day bringing a greater cash reward. Desperate to save his sick daughter, working-class Ben Richards (Glen Powell) is convinced by the show's charming but ruthless producer, Dan Killian (Josh Brolin), to enter the game as a last resort. But Ben's defiance, instincts, and grit turn him into an unexpected fan favorite—and a threat to the entire system. As ratings skyrocket, so does the danger, and Ben must outwit not just the Hunters, but a nation addicted to watching him fall.
 
Last edited:
Bout

Fucking

Time!

I hope it hews much closer to the story.

Though my pitch was always ti frame it like a real reality show, do the usual reality tv pr and talk circuit, then in ep 2 one of the contestants is killed, they act shocked for a week, then after that its revealed that it is all scripted.
 
jason10mm said:
Though my pitch was always ti frame it like a real reality show, do the usual reality tv pr and talk circuit, then in ep 2 one of the contestants is killed, they act shocked for a week, then after that its revealed that it is all scripted.
Click to expand...
It would have made a perfect TV show, crossing America entering different cities or regions with different hunters, other runners failing or "succeeding" while it mainly focuses on Ben, hunters bigged up against other runners that then fail against Ben or miss locating him for a few episodes until they confront.
 
Closer to the novel, then, which will make it very different from the 80s Arnold adaptation.

Really didn't care for Last Night in Soho, ideological trash, but this seems like it's more in Edgar Wright's wheelhouse.

Not sold on Glen Powell as the protag, but I guess.
 
EviLore said:
Closer to the novel, then, which will make it very different from the 80s Arnold adaptation.

Really didn't care for Last Night in Soho, ideological trash, but this seems like it's more in Edgar Wright's wheelhouse.

Not sold on Glen Powell as the protag, but I guess.
Click to expand...
Edgar Wright is great, and though I admittedly haven't read the novel, I'm interested in a more faithful adaptation. That being said, it's gonna take one hell of a film to supplant the original for me. Maybe it's just nostalgia, but Arnie has the charisma to carry pretty much any film on his shoulders alone throughout the entirety of the 80's and through most of the 90's, and I just don't see that in Glen Powell. I don't know. It might be more faithful, but that doesn't mean it'll be as fun as the 80's version, and that's something that a lot of "updates" of 80's films seem to get wrong in my opinion.
 
seems like it would at least be a fun watch, if nothing else. I vaguely remember the original story by King and this seems like a good way to go at it. I also love that they're not trying to do the Arnold movie again and is going in a new direction.
 
Tempted now to be honest and I very much wasn't before that trailer

It gave total recall remake vibes to start with. Then it felt like the first running man, as the trailer progressed. But perhaps not as 'cheap'. Only a little less on the camp side (looks like they switched from host to producer. Talk about progressive 😂)

Could be worth a watch, but I do find Edgar wright to be hit or miss. Usually within the same movie. With maybe the exception of hot fuzz and Shaun of the dead
 
QzHULADvuzDp2rSF.gif
 
Looks like a total comedy movie.

Ya, old Arnie movies were one part action and one part comedy bits and one liners. But it wasnt over the top goofy like the guy in the video with the pump gun zapping people. Old Arnie movie comedy is done is a certain way.

Had to check up who Edgar Wright is. Most of his movies are comedy flicks.
 
Arnie's Running Man is among my guilty pleasure films, but I'm glad this is actually following the premise from the book. Will definitely check it out.
 
Last edited:
I watched Arnold's Running Man too late in life. Because I had zero nostalgia for it, I thought it was one of his weakest movies.

Not sure if Glen Powell was the right pick here but I guess we will see how this turns out.
 
IIRC in the book the runners just had to call in once per day, and "illegally" the game show was passing on that location to the bounty hunters. It was a lot more like betting in sports with stats for how long a runner lasted versus watching a live feed of something in front of a live audience.

This seems like a more gritty version of the OG film but maybe that game show stuff is just the start of Ben's run and he is free to roam the world. Trailer is very action focused so I wonder if it is a little deceptive.
 
Looks nothing like the source nor the Arnold movie if im honest.

If Paul Verhoeven is involved call me
 
Last edited:
Revolutionary said:
It's an Edgar Wright movie. It'll be good.
Click to expand...

I don't know about that. Last Night in Soho was really average.

I'm not sure about this film either. It looks like a more faithful adaptation of the novel, but I feel like I've seen the premise of this story a million times already.
 
IDKFA said:
I don't know about that. Last Night in Soho was really average.

I'm not sure about this film either. It looks like a more faithful adaptation of the novel, but I feel like I've seen the premise of this story a million times already.
Click to expand...
Last Night in Soho was his homage to Italian giallo films, and from a filmmaking perspective it was really impressive.


I wouldn't call it average but I can admit that it's his weakest movie. But if Last Night in Soho (7.0 imdb, 6.5 meta) is considered his weakest, it just goes to show how good of a director Wright is. Not many modern directors have that kind of pedigree.
 
Last edited:
Actually looks kinda cool from the trailer. I don't know if it'll get me to rush to the theater, because...just don't do that as much these days, but maybe if I got the time when it's out.
 
I still have a soft spot for the 1983 French-Bulgarian adaptation, it's less cheesy and action-oriented than the Arnold version (or apparently the 2025 one). In the end it's just some regular guy being chased by regular people in a TV Reality Show.
 
Rewatched Arnie's a few weeks ago. While I enjoyed it, it wasn't what I remembered from watching it in the 90s.

Recently listened to the audiobook for this.

Another film which plays with the public's love for reality tv even if killing is involved is Series 7: The Contenders. Another one I must rewatch as haven't seen it in about 20 years.
 
March Climber said:
I watched Arnold's Running Man too late in life. Because I had zero nostalgia for it, I thought it was one of his weakest movies.

Not sure if Glen Powell was the right pick here but I guess we will see how this turns out.
Click to expand...
Yeah, Arnold's god-tier films are Predator, Terminator 2 and Commando. Then you have his great films, like Terminator 1, Conan, True Lies and Total Recall. And then you have a bunch of films that some like and some don't, like Twins, Running Man, Terminator 3, Kindergarten Cop, End of Days, Last Action Hero and so on.

But there is usually some fun scenes and silly stuff that stick with people through all his 80s and 90s films. Running Man has some of that, so its still brought up from time to time, but yeah, you need nostalgia to like that film.
 
kpopSuperstar said:
Yeah, Arnold's god-tier films are Predator, Terminator 2 and Commando. Then you have his great films, like Terminator 1, Conan, True Lies and Total Recall. And then you have a bunch of films that some like and some don't, like Twins, Running Man, Terminator 3, Kindergarten Cop, End of Days, Last Action Hero and so on.

But there is usually some fun scenes and silly stuff that stick with people through all his 80s and 90s films. Running Man has some of that, so its still brought up from time to time, but yeah, you need nostalgia to like that film.
Click to expand...
I'd put Conan, Terminator, and Total Recall above Commando, maybe even above Predator. Wars have been fought over lesser debates :P
 
daffyduck said:
Should've been Pedro Pascal.
Click to expand...
I know you're joking but I felt that Glen Powell didn't match the type of energy of the role that Edgar Wright seems to be directing for, which is a mixture of serious, slightly charismatic, slightly comedic, and slightly crazed/deranged. All in the package of an action movie.

I would have chosen one of the following:

  • Tom Hardy
  • Johnathan Majors
  • Ryan Reynolds
  • Chris Evans
  • Josh Hartnett
  • Wyatt Russell
  • and (maybe) Ryan Gosling
 
Last edited:
EviLore said:
Closer to the novel, then, which will make it very different from the 80s Arnold adaptation.

Really didn't care for Last Night in Soho, ideological trash, but this seems like it's more in Edgar Wright's wheelhouse.

Not sold on Glen Powell as the protag, but I guess.
Click to expand...
I share all the same sentiments. The trailer looks impressive when compared to most of the Grey Slop they've been churning out.
 
I wonder if they'll pay some homage to the Schwarzenegger movie...
even tho it was far from the source material, it is a cult classic at this point.

the Doctor Sleep movie was made as a sequel the less faithful Kubrick movie for the same reason... it's just a classic now, even tho King himself doesn't like it that much, and the TV mini series was more in line with what he wanted an adaptation to be.
so I wonder if there'll be elements of the original movie in there
 
Last edited:
Nope, I'm good with rewatching the original.

I'm so sick of how every trailer is formatted the same. "Trailer starts now" , a song playing through a medley of action scenes with explosions, pause for a "humourous" bit, repeat several times if necessary.
 
CokeDiet said:
Nope, I'm good with rewatching the original.

I'm so sick of how every trailer is formatted the same. "Trailer starts now" , a song playing through a medley of action scenes with explosions, pause for a "humourous" bit, repeat several times if necessary.
Click to expand...
Every generation has it's way of doing trailers. I'm sure some of our elders were eventually tired of hearing '...in a world' every time a commercial block happened on TV.
 
March Climber said:
Every generation has it's way of doing trailers. I'm sure some of our elders were eventually tired of hearing '...in a world' every time a commercial block happened on TV.
Click to expand...
I always remember ones like:

'It was a time of war, it was a time of heroes'

'One man, one mission'

These days I see a lot of:

'This summer' (in bold text)
 
CokeDiet said:
Nope, I'm good with rewatching the original.

I'm so sick of how every trailer is formatted the same. "Trailer starts now" , a song playing through a medley of action scenes with explosions, pause for a "humourous" bit, repeat several times if necessary.
Click to expand...
Not just that, it has that shitty 'Netflix' look

I'll stick to Arnie.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

  • Poll
Is 2025 the Year of Linux/Alternative Operating Systems? What OS Are You Running?
19
850
BadBurger replied
Red Sonja (2025)
2
57
649
Kacho replied
Shane Gillis' opening monologue at the Espys 2025
6
111
Represent. replied
Don't Run from the Boogey Man
22
526
bender replied
The Wolf Man official trailer (2025)
30
2K
kunonabi replied
Top Bottom