The original star of The Running Man, Arnold Schwarzenegger, has given his full blessing to the upcoming remake starring Glen Powell.
The popular Stephen King novel is getting another film adaptation that is slated to release in theaters later this year, with Powell taking on the role of Ben Richards this time around and Edgar Wright directing.
Glen Powell Reveals He Received Full Blessing from Arnold Schwarzenegger for The Running Man Remake
In a recent interview, Powell revealed that he and Wright connected with Schwarzenegger while preparing for The Running Man remake and received his full blessing on the project.
"Arnold gave us his blessing. [His son] Patrick Schwarzenegger is a great friend of mine and I asked Patrick if I could talk to Arnold, and I hadn't seen Arnold since we shot Expendables in Bulgaria," he said.
Fortunately, Schwarzenegger welcomed the idea of doing a remake of one of his classic films and approved Powell's casting as this generation's Ben Richards.
He continued, "Arnold gave us his full blessing, and we get to give Arnold a very specific fun gift from the movie in a couple of weeks here. So I'm very excited to see him."
Due to the caliber of talent involved, The Running Man is one of the highly anticipated releases this year, and it will also be a test of Powell's star power as he is the solo lead of the film.
What is The Running Man About?
The Running Man is based on the best-selling 1982 novel written by Stephen King (penned under his pseudonym Richard Bachman).
The film centers on Ben Richards as he joins a game show where contestants, allowed to go anywhere in the world, are pursued by "hunters" hired to kill them.
Aside from Powell, the star-studded cast also includes Josh Brolin, Katy O'Brian, Colman Domingo, Lee Pace, Jayme Lawson, Michael Cera, Emilia Jones, William H. Macy, Sean Hayes, and David Zayas.
Production took place from November 2024 to March 2025. Exclusive footage from the film was shown recently to the CinemaCon attendees, and it was met with enthusiastic responses.
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