Writing about Edgar Wright's adaptation of The Running Man here on CinemaBlend, I haven't exactly been shy in sharing my feelings about the ending: it was a main subject in both my review of the movie and my full analysis of the final scenes was headlined "The Running Man Massively Changes The Ending Of Stephen King's Story, And WTF Was That?" In short, it plays as a major cop out, with dark revelations and events from the source material replaced with illogical Hollywood pablum. I was extremely dissatisfied by the adaptation when I saw it in theaters last fall, and if I'm being totally honest, my feelings have only further steered toward the negative reading the director's latest comments.

Wright's explanation for the controversial ending of The Running Man is the lead development featured in this week's edition of The King Beat, but it's not the lone story from looking back at the last seven days in the world of Stephen King, as a new attempt to ban one of the author's books has caught my eye as being particularly ironic. There's a lot to discuss, so let's dig in!

Edgar Wright's Latest Comments About The Running Man Ending Do Nothing To Make Me Feel Better About The Flawed Stephen King Adaptation

To ever so briefly recap the end of Edgar Wright's The Running Man: Ben Richards (Glen Powell) is left utterly bereft when he learns that his wife and child have been killed while he was competing on the titular game show. When he rejects an offer to become the new lead hunter for Dan Killian (Josh Brolin), the Network takes over the navigation of the plane he's on, and sets up a narrative to label Richards as a thwarted terrorist. Instead of a bleak ending matching the Stephen King book, however, a YouTube-esque video explains that Richards was able to safely eject, a brief supermarket scene reunites the protagonist with his still-alive family; and Richards leads an assault on the set of The Running Man to kill Killian.

In thinking about the terrible final scenes of the movie in the last few months, I've tried to reason out why it's so bad – and my gut told me it was about studio interference and/or test screenings. The movie was produced with a substantial $110 million budget (per Variety), and I imagined that some calculus was done that determined limits to its box office potential with a dark ending. That, or early cuts previewed during post-production upset too many people, forcing reshoots and changes.

My gut was wrong: Edgar Wright takes personal responsibility for the changes to the source material. And while I understand that the movie couldn't directly adapt the ending from the book because of how it retroactively echoes the horrors of September 11, 2001, I am disappointed to hear his explanation for reversing the deaths of Ben Richards' wife and daughter.

New commentary from the filmmaker about The Running Man is featured in the latest issue of Empire, and Wright specifically digs into the significant changes that the film makes from Stephen King's book (first published in 1982 under the pseudonym Richard Bachman). Discussing the fates of Sheila and Cathy Richards, he says that the first crack at the script featured the characters being killed for real, but he didn't have the stomach for the material in subsequent drafts. The writer/director told the magazine,

Here's the problem with that: "too brutal" is what he signed up for. In the run-up to the release of the movie, Edgar Wright explained that his interest in the project began when he was a teenager and recognized that the 1987 film starring Arnold Schwarzenegger is barely a reflection of the book on which it's based. Being a big fan of the novel, he wanted to make a more faithful adaptation, which he very much succeeded in doing… up until the final scenes.

With the book, Stephen King didn't just spit out an edgy ending. The darkness is fitting because the journey Ben Richards goes on through the story exposes the horrors of his fascistic world, full of lies, violence, pollution, corruption, and propaganda, and he is broken by it. Pop culture constantly feeds us hopeful and optimistic ends to these kinds of stories, but it's an emotional and powerful thing to see a hero shatter – as director Francis Lawrence and screenwriter J.T. Mollner perfectly proved last year with the changed but phenomenally effective ending of The Long Walk.

Wright added that there was never a plan to have Ben Richards purposefully fly a plane into the Network headquarters (something he first confirmed more than a month before the movie's theatrical release), but he also explained that the ending was always going to have Richard's journey have a specific impact on his world:

Again, I get avoiding having the film generate any 9/11 comparisons, but I also think the movie is misguided in the "spark of revolution" arena. That is something that The Running Man could have accomplished without faking the deaths of Ben, Sheila, and Cathy Richards: they could have been remembered as martyrs in a new movement led by The Apostle (Daniel Ezra) – eliminating the "Hollywood" stink that is all over the movie we ultimately got.

It's clear that Edgar Wright remains very proud of the movie he made, and while it didn't ultimately perform well in theaters (it finished its worldwide theatrical run earning $68.6 million), he believes that it will ultimately find an audience – which is something that he has personally experienced before in his career. Said the filmmaker,

Should you want to reassess The Running Man, the movie is currently available to stream with a Paramount Plus subscription, or if you're a physical media fan/looking to build the ultimate Stephen King collection, you can purchase the film on 4K UHD, Blu-ray and DVD.

It's Hard Not To See An Extreme Irony In A New Effort To Ban One Of Stephen King's Books

Stephen King is no stranger to having his books banned in various United States school districts. It's something that has been happening for decades, and King has been known to take it as a point of pride when it happens because its recognition of how his work challenges readers with delicate and taboo subject matter, and he encourages readers to seek out those titles when they get taken out of libraries. Generally speaking, I find the bans to be both awful and ridiculous, but recent news out of Jacksonville, Florida has caught my eye because of an effort to remove a specific title: 11.22.63.

Reporting about the initiative comes from WJXT, which says that King's 2011 novel is being challenged along with Vanishing Acts and The Pact by author Jodi Picoult. The news source doesn't specifically explain why 11.22.63 is being targeted, but I can't help but find it extremely ironic given that the work is a passionate love letter dedicated to teachers and education.

The titular date is a reference to the assassination of President John F. Kennedy, as the plot of the book sees a protagonist Jake Epping travel back in time to stop Lee Harvey Oswald and potentially create a better future. But Jake is limited to traveling back to 1958, and that necessitates him forging a life for himself in the past until the big day comes. A teacher from his own time, he finds employment as a teacher in the past, and the impact that he has on the lives of his students is magical. There are sequences of sex and violence in the book, but none that outweigh the clear affection that King has for people who dedicate their lives to fostering young generations – and banning that kind of material from schools is straight-up preposterous.

That brings us to the end of this week's edition of The King Beat, but as ever, the publication of this feature means that we are now exactly seven days away from the next, as I'm happy to bring you all of the latest news from the world of Stephen King every Thursday here on CinemaBlend. And while you wait for new stuff, you can dive into the old stuff with my series Adapting Stephen King – an exploration of the long history of King stories in film and television.

As somebody who counts The Martian among my favorite movies of the 21st century, and one of the best sci-fi movies ever, I have certainly been excited about the book-to-screen adaptation of Andy Weir's Project Hail Mary. The trailer for the film has been setting up the audience for an emotional journey, and now that a number of high-profile names in Hollywood have seen the flick, I’m getting even more excited.

The rest of us must still wait a month for the release of Project Hail Mary on the 2026 movie schedule, but it was recently screened for an audience that contained the likes of director Edgar Wright, Josh Gad, and more Hollywood names. Wright took to X to welcome directors Phil Lord and Chris Miller back to live-action movies, and their return is apparently stunning. The Shaun of the Dead director said in part…

Wright went on to praise screenwriter Drew Goddard, stars Ryan Gosling and Sandra Hüller, and more aspects of the film. It sounds like IMAX may be the way to see this one due to the film’s epic scale.

Fans of the book written by Andy Weir have been vocally upset by the marketing for the book-to-screen adaptation of Project Hail Mary, as some feel the trailers give away a major spoiler in the story. However, several of the people who saw the movie had read the book before, and they certainly didn’t seem to feel knowledge of the events spoiled anything. On Instagram, Josh Gad said…

Actor Ken Jeong seemingly hasn’t read the book based on his Instagram comments. However, his wife had, and they both absolutely loved Project Hail Mary. He’s the second person to call the movie a “masterpiece” and the second to focus on the humanity of the story. He said…

Considering that Phil Lord and Chris Miller have made me cry over Spider-Man and LEGOs, I’m fully expecting Project Hail Mary to be an emotional experience. These directors have a nearly spotless track record of greatness, but this may be their best work. Actor Paul Scheer certainly thinks so as he posted to X…

Project Hail Mary was already one of the 2026 movies I was most excited for, but now I’m going to have a hard time waiting for this one to open. My expectations have been raised, but based on this feedback, I certainly expect my expectations to still be met when I sit down in the theater on March 20 to see the movie for myself.

One of the most action-packed movies released in 2025, Edgar Wright's adaptation ofThe Running Man dropped Glen Powell's Ben Richards into a world where signing up for reality TV can be a life or death decision. Thankfully, no such dramatic threats existed for Colman Domingo's Bobby T., the hostest with the mostest style and flair who is never not debonaire. As the host of the titular competition (i.e. manhunt), Bobby T. is an attention-magnet, with his fancy footwork factoring heavily into his appeal.

Appropriately enough, the film features Bobby T. pulling off the titular dance that hit its heyday in the 1980s. (At least they're keeping that part of culture alive in the near future.) As part of the special features for The Running Man's digital release, which goes live on December 16, Colman Domingo talked about taking the stage along with other talented dancers for the bombastic opening to the fictional show, as well as sharing how he came to do the dance on camera. Check it out in the clip below!

For those unable to watch, the Rustin star first gave props to the film's choreographer for giving him the room to create. As he put it:

Domingo, who's part of Steven Spielberg's upcoming mystery film, explained that he put his moves to work to appease co-star Glen Powell. He continued:

While it's not entirely clear what the context was for Glen Powell asking about the running man dance I like to picture it as the Maverick actor shyly walking up and inquiring about it in the same way a kindergartner might ask an in-uniform baseball player if they know how to play baseball. Of course Colman Domingo knows how to do the running men. He probably handles it better than any of the people who started doing it in the first place.

What we really need now is the follow-up video where Glen Powell takes a few (hundred) shots at nailing the dance. I guess that's an entirely different reality show though.

At a time when home entertainment releases can feel quite lacking compared to the golden age of Blu-ray/DVD extras, The Running Man's digital release comes with gobs of special features that will give audiences more than 2 hours of in-depth insights, interviews, additional footage and more. The rundown can be seen below.

The Running Man: DIgital Extras

• Feature Commentary By Writer/Director Edgar Wright, Actor Glen Powell, And Writer Michael Bacall
• 4 BTS Featurettes
  • The Hunt Begins (Story)
  • The Hunters And The Hunted (Cast)
  • Welcome To The Running Man (Visual Style)
  • Surviving The Game: Shooting The Running Man (Production & Stunts)
• The Running Man's In-World Promos And Shows
  • 5 Commercials
  • Opening Titles, Hardest Hits, Rules Video
  • The Runners' Self Tapes
  • Speed The Wheel Clips
  • The Americanos Ep & Promos
  • The Apostle Clips
• Stunts Compilation
• Hair, MakeUp And Costume Test
• Deleted And Extended Scenes
• Trailers & Digital Spots

The Running Man will be available to rent and purchase from digital retailers on Tuesday, December 16. You don't actually need to do any running yourself to secure Edgar Wright's latest, and you technically don't even have to leave your couch, even if that's probably healthy to do at least once a day.

With the latest Stephen King screen adaptation, The Running Man, coming out over the weekend, there’s been plenty of discourse about it. Of course, critics have weighed in on the movie, along with our own Running Man review of the present day version, but that isn’t all. Among the headlines attached to the 2025 movie schedule entry is an unexpected twist fit for both of the involved creatives. Surprisingly, the new film’s director, Edgar Wright, and King are pen pals and have been for a while.

Ahead of the release, Wright spoke with THR about the modern Glen Powell-led flick. Highlights included, beyond the unexpected Kardashians nod, just how deep his friendship and fandom for Stephen King is, including their special correspondence. Wright wound the clock back just over two decades to reveal his first interaction with the prolific author was related to his A+ blurb of Shaun of the Dead. The film director shared of the even more shocking bit:

The backstory on this surprise Hollywood bingo card moment of the year runs much deeper than I anticipated! While Stephen King's influence on Wright's movies has been no secret, I’m so pleased to learn about their bond. I can only imagine what a surreal moment it was back then to have such an icon’s blessing on one of his first projects. But that’s only just the beginning of the fun.

Edgar Wright went on to say that the first contact parlayed itself into an electronic snail mail friendship. Over the years, they’d chat about their projects, with Stephen King being complimentary of each new flick post-Shaun of the Dead. But as Wright shared, it was more of a personal line of connection, saying:

I’m so thrilled to have gotten this BTS nugget dropped out of thin air. Thinking about Wright and King wishing each other happy birthday and talking about bands like King Gizzard is just really sweet to me. Oh, to be a fly on that electronic thread! It certainly makes me wonder if the 51-year-old’s asking for King's approval of a new ending happened that way.

If you couldn’t guess, I’ll continue to muse about all that’s been chatted about between the two writers. Are there other adaptations or collaborations even between them? There really is so much material. Still, at the end of the day, I’m really so amused to know that Edgar Wright and Stephen King have been the pen pals I didn’t know I needed.

The Running Man is the latest of the (many) 2025 movie releases that have been adapted from a Stephen King book, and while the Easter eggs to other King works are many, there's another that was very unexpected during the movie's runtime. You may have noticed in Edgar Wright’s movie there’s a great nod to popular reality TV in the dystopian action thriller. When CinemaBlend spoke to the writer and director, he told us how the movie’s Kardashians-like parody came about.

Let's unpack what happened.

How The Running Man Parodies Reality TV Like The Kardashians

In The Running Man, the main focus is on the intense competition Glen Powell's character Ben Richards becomes the star of. Because of this, a lot of the world is framed through a TV lens. We see ads (amusingly) for products like Liquid Death, and we also find out the world’s TV viewers are hooked on their own version of The Kardashians.

In the flick's case, it’s called The Americanos, and in a few moments throughout the new movie, even Ben Richards got sucked in. Check out some images from The Americanos:

You cannot mistake the nods to The Kardashians here. And, the movie really nails the parody.

What Edgar Wright Told Us About The Americanos

When CinemaBlend’s own Jeff McCobb talked to Edgar Wright, the filmmaker shared with us how The Americanos were conceived. As it turns out, the reality minds behind the Hulu show were actually a huge help for the movie production, with Wright telling us:

Well, that’s a fun play on words. Americanos… like “americano” the coffee order! It’s interesting to hear that Wright and the crew did some background research before filming the parody, and how they decided to interweave it into the movie – which leans heavily into social commentary and TV culture.

Those with a Hulu subscription will know the vibe of The Americanos feels spot-on. I guess I shouldn't be so surprised those who worked on the show were helpful. Even series lead Kim Kardashian is usually cool with poking fun at herself, and it's a rare day when a big budget movie probably needs help from a reality show. It likely helped that Wright's familiar with the gist thanks to some of his pals.

Sure, Wright isn’t exactly a fan of a lot of reality TV shows himself, but lots of people who pay attention to the 2025 TV schedule absolutely do, and it’s a fun way to nod to what could be popular on television in this dystopian world. The movie also pays fun tribute to the fact Arnold Schwarzenegger was in the original movie version.

Of course, in our reality there’s no one actually being hunted down for death to win a large sum of money, but the movie certainly highlights how entertainment can go to extremes to be “good TV”. And, while reality TV like the Kardashians is no competition show, it’s definitely part of the conversation when it comes to something that a lot of people regularly consume that is offering up a lot of the family’s life to the public.

I still never expected to write Stephen King and The Kardashians in the same sentence, but there's always room for new movie milestones.

Between it being another Edgar Wright-directed movie and starring recent Hollywood favorite Glen Powell, The Running Man remake has been one of those especially exciting 2025 movie releases throughout the year. Now that it’s arrived and I’ve seen it, there’s one idea that I can’t shake about what could have been for the latest of Stephen King adaptations. SPOILERS are ahead.

I Think The Running Man Could Have Been Even Better As A TV Show

While on one hand I think Edgar Wright’s vision for the movie was absolutely made for the big screen, as I found it to be a fun popcorn movie full of nail-biting action and such, I can’t stop thinking about a missed opportunity that could have elevated the concept. Given that The Running Man is partly a commentary on reality television, and the lengths desperate contestants might go to and TV producers might push for the sake of entertainment value, one predominant thought I have is how it could have thrived even further as a television series.

I think it would have been really clever if The Running Man were a weekly TV show that partially used its reality TV framing to make viewers feel like they are watching the titular series, as Ben Richards is also trying to survive it. It would have been a lot more meta to feel like we’re tuning into the show … which could be compared to a very twisted and violent take on network shows like Survivor and The Amazing Race.

Some Of My Issues With The Running Man May Have Improved

Overall, I do like the movie as is. I mostly agree with our The Running Man review, which highlights its big changes to the story’s ending. However, the problems I do have with the Glen Powell-led movie could have been improved if The Running Man were a TV show. It’s over two hours, and it felt rushed to me, and I don’t love leaving a theater and feeling like there were too many ideas and not enough time to flesh it out on the big screen.

There are a few threads that I think, if they were explored more, would have made me enjoy The Running Man a lot more. For one, I felt like the movie didn’t do the best job of setting up the stakes of Ben Richards' life. It was briefly suggested that his baby daughter, Kathy, was sick, and he felt desperate enough to try out for the high-stakes competition show, but I didn’t really feel this need from the movie itself.

Also, I really liked what was briefly established between Ben and William H. Macy’s Molie when he helps get him a disguise before revealing that he had planned to get him his next job. I was surprised to see that the only follow-up for his character was him possibly getting tortured without anything more. If this were a TV show, something like this relationship could have had more depth to it, rather than it feeling like Macy was giving basically a nothing cameo-ish role. Oh, and don’t even get me started on the third act! It felt a bit rushed to me.

Anyway, like I alluded to, I think The Running Man works as a movie. I had a blast watching it on the big screen. But watching it made me realize how solid this story would be as a TV show. Hey, maybe someday! Tons of upcoming book adaptations are taking the serial route these days.

There is no greater indication that someone is getting old than seeing movies you grew up watching getting remade. Such is my feeling with the brand new version of The Running Man starring Glen Powell that hit theaters on November 14. The original Arnold Schwarzenegger movie is one that I saw countless times on television as a kid. It’s possibly the Schwarzenegger movie I’ve seen more than any other.

I was excited to see the new remake from director Edgar Wright. It’s a much more faithful version of Stephen King’s original dystopian nightmare, but with some of Edgar Wright’s trademark style thrown into the mix. There are a lot of reasons to appreciate a more faithful remake, but there is one part of the first film that was absolutely brilliant that I wish the remake had borrowed.

The Original Running Man Had An Inspired Piece Of Casting

While the first adaptation of The Running Man is drastically different from Stephen King’s story, the most wildly different take is the casting of Arnold Schwarzenegger, a massive human being, to play Ben Richards, much more of an everyman in the book. There is, however, an absolutely brilliant piece of casting in the film that goes a long way to making the movie, Richard Dawson as Damon Killian.

In the novel, as in the new movie, Dan Killian is the producer of The Running Man while the show is hosted by Bobby Thompson (or Bobby T as played by Colman Domingo in the new movie). The original film combines these roles into Damon Killian, both producer and host, who was played by Richard Dawson, who had only recently left as the actual host of Family Feud.

The decision to bring in an actor who was known primarily as a game show host, and to make that host, generally well-loved by audiences, absolutely despicable and the ultimate villain of the movie, was genius. It was an absolutely amazing subversion of expectations. It’s one of the earliest memories I have of seeing an actor work “against type” in a big way, and the new film could have really had some fun if it had gone the same route.

The Running Man Remake Should Have Brought In A Modern Game Show Host

Colman Domingo plays the host of The Running Man in the new film, and, because he’s Colman Domingo, he’s great. It’s a small role without a great deal of depth, but it’s a character who only needs to be charismatic, and Domingo has that in bunches.

That said, I can’t help but think the movie could have had some real fun if it had gone the same route as the original Running Man and cast an actual game show host in the role of Bobby T. Imagine if the movie had gone with Steve Harvey, the current host of Family Feud, but made him a truly terrible person. Personally, I would have loved to see Ryan Seacrest, the host of, I think, everything on TV except Family Feud, play the most awful version of himself that he possibly could.

Overall, the new Running Man is still a solidly good movie without this, and changing the casting of the show’s host wouldn’t have saved the movie from its tragically bad ending. But it could have added something more to the movie and paid a bit of homage to the original beyond a brief Arnold Schwarzenegger cameo. Maybe next time.

One minor The Running Man SPOILER is ahead.

Glen Powell’s role as Ben Richards in The Running Man marks the second time the Stephen King character has been adapted for film following the 1987 version starring Arnold Schwarzenegger. However, there’s a fun connection between the films to be found in the 2025 movie release in the form of a brief appearance by Schwarzenegger on a $100 bill in the film.. But what does that mean he’s playing exactly?

CinemaBlend found out when we spoke to writer/director Edgar Wright. When Jeff McCobb asked him if Schwarzenegger is playing the president in The Running Man, here’s how the filmmaker responded:

If you missed Arnold Schwarzenegger’s cameo in The Running Man, when the fictional competition series The Running Man is playing, a woman presents a look at the money contestants can earn, and on the bill is Schwarzenegger’s face. Take a look:

Arnold Schwarzenegger was the governor of California from 2003 to 2011, and it even looks like they used his official governor photo on the bill! What a fun little way to pay tribute to his legacy in The Running Man. As Edgar Wright continued in our interview:

As Edgar Wright pointed out, he’s not the first filmmaker to make Schwarzenegger president in a sci-fi movie. It was also done in 1993’s Demolition Man. In that film, which was co-written by Daniel Waters (alongside Robert Reneau and Peter M. Lenkov), it’s mentioned that Arnold Schwarzenegger was the President of the United States after a Constitutional amendment was passed that allowed him to run for the office due to his popularity. The actor wouldn’t be able to run in real life because he was born in Austria.

Along with Schwarzenegger getting a nod in the movie, he also gave his blessing to Glen Powell to star in the film, as well as saw the new movie and give the actor his thoughts on it. (Did you know Powell and Schwarzenegger were both in an Expendables movie together years ago?) Per the new The Running Man star, Schwarzenegger “just kept saying ‘it’s incredible’” after the screening, along with noticing that it was a “very painful movie” for Powell given all the stunts he achieved.

You can check out what critics are saying about it, including our own The Running Man review, and of course see it only in theaters now.

Glen Powell has been in quite a few projects over the past few years, and he doesn’t seem to be slowing down anytime soon. That’s particularly true of his latest film to hit the 2025 movie calendar, Edgar Wright’s remake of The Running Man, which sees his character Ben Richards join a reality show in which he has to elude people for 30 days who are trying to hunt and kill him. So what are critics saying about the upcoming Stephen King adaptation?

The author himself, who published the novel of the same name in 1982 under the pseudonym Richard Bachman, has seen the film and called it “fantastic,” while audiences’ first reactions praised the fun dystopian action thriller. In CinemaBlend’s review of The Running Man, Eric Eisenberg agrees it is a great Stephen King adaptation … until it’s completely ruined by its ending. He rates it 3.5 stars out of 5 and says:

He’s not the only critic talking about the massive changes to the ending. While Jesse Hassenger of AV Club calls the movie more successful than not, the critic says it overstays its welcome with its “distended, herky-jerk” final 30 minutes. Edgar Wright can’t quite find the balance between thrilling action and being a vehicle for social comedy, Hassenger says, giving it a B- and writing:

David Rooney of THR agrees, saying the director seems “almost constrained” by the film, which isn’t as compelling or as entertaining as it could be. The Running Man rarely gets the pulse racing, Rooney writes, and fails to prove Glen Powell’s viability as a leading man. The critic continues:

Clint Gage of IGN, meanwhile, says the whole is greater than the sum of its parts. It's not absurd enough to feel like biting satire, it’s not subtle enough to be a melodrama, and it’s not inventive enough to be a great action film. Still, Gage says, it’s fun enough to warrant its “Good” 7 out of 10 ranking. He continues:

David Fear of Rolling Stone seems more than happy with The Running Man, saying it’s got plenty of action, Edgar Wright’s warped sense of humor and an ace in the hole in Glen Powell — all of which is cut with a justifiable dose of anger. Fear says:

Critics definitely have some nitpicks about this book-to-screen adaptation, including how it balances its tone and an apparently polarizing ending. However, it looks like the positive outweighs the negative, as the movie stands at 65% on Rotten Tomatoes. If you can’t wait to see Glen Powell in The Running Man, the good news is you don’t have to. It officially hits theaters on Friday, November 14.

SPOILER WARNING: The following article contains massive spoilers for Edgar Wright’s The Running Man. If you have not yet seen the film, proceed at your own risk!

When it came to Edgar Wright’s decision to make a new adaptation of Stephen King’s The Running Man, faithfulness to the source material was the point. Earlier this year, during a luncheon Q&A at CinemaCon, the writer/director explained that he was a big fan of the book from when he was young, and he was never satisfied with the extremely loose take that was released in 1987, starring Arnold Schwarzenegger (which I’ve previously dubbed “the least-Stephen King Stephen King movie"). He wanted to make a film that better represented King’s original story.

The good news? His new movie is indeed mostly that: practically the entire narrative makes it from the page to the screen, including even the protagonist’s run through the haunted town of Derry, Maine. The bad news? The big exception (and what necessitates that “mostly”) is the ending, which the film manages to botch in a massive way.

Back in early 2021, when The Running Man remake was first announced, I wrote about how it would likely be the case that the 2025 adaptation’s ending would deviate from the book, and Edgar Wright confirmed that would be the case in an interview published last month. But if you were like me and hoped/expected smart alterations that would at least capture the tone and energy of the conclusion, all that one can really feel is disappointment. In this week’s special edition of The King Beat (slightly delayed due to its spoiler-y nature), I’ll dig into all of it. Why it’s so bad is a bit complicated, so let’s first recap what plays out in Stephen King’s novel and at the end of the film – which actually stay in concert for quite a long time into the third act of the narrative.

What Happens At The End Of Stephen King’s The Running Man, And How It Compares To The Adaptation

There is a very simple explanation as to why it was always unlikely that we would see Stephen King’s ending of The Running Man brought to the big screen: while the novel was first published in 1982, the explosive finale includes imagery that evokes memories of September 11, 2001, and that wound is still a bit too fresh.

That being said, the movie adaptation’s third act very much represents the majority of what plays out in the book. Having become one of the biggest sensations in the history of The Running Man game show, Ben Richards orchestrates a hostage situation with a woman whose car he hijacks, and his threats get him a private plane with only a flight crew and lead Hunter Evan McCone on board. When they are airborne, Richards gets a call from Dan Killian, who tells him that they know his claim to have explosives on hand is a bluff, but he wants to negotiate a different kind of ending to the show.

Hoping to seize on Richards’ popularity, Killian offers him the chance to replace McCone as the lead Hunter – and he motivates his would-be star to say yes by revealing that his wife and child have both been dead for days. Emotionally destroyed by the news, Richard opts to kill McCone and the flight crew, and he lets his hostage exit the plane via parachute.

In the book, once everyone else on the flight is dead or gone, Richards takes control of the plane, and he proceeds to navigate it straight into the skyscraper that serves as Network headquarters and kills Dan Killian. That idea off the table, the 2025 movie adaptation goes in a different direction.

How Edgar Wright’s The Running Man Changes Stephen King’s Ending

In the film scripted by Edgar Wright and Michael Bacall, Ben Richards (Glen Powell) doesn’t purposefully steer the plane towards the Network skyscraper; instead, the Network is able to take over the auto pilot function and uses it to create a narrative: host Bobby T (Colman Domingo) tells audiences that Richards is aiming to execute a terrorist attack, indiscriminately killing everybody inside, and that action is used as an excuse to shoot the plane down before innocent lives are lost.

When a missile hits, Richards is presumably killed (which would match the book minus the deadly vengeance)… but the movie freeze-frames and becomes a video presented by the revolutionary known as The Apostle (Daniel Ezra). The underground host explains to the audience not only the theory that the protagonist managed to survive by ejecting the crew’s escape pod, but he also suggests that Sheila Richards (Jayme Lawson) and her daughter are still alive as well. It turns out that both things are true, as the next scene presents a family reunion outside of a grocery store, with Ben revealing his survival by stealthily purchasing a new pair of red socks for his girl and having the clerk deliver them.

Not only does Richards get back those whom he loves and thought were lost, but he also becomes a revolutionary leader. When the new season of The Running Man launches, Bobby T quits when he recognizes violence in the crowd, and when Dan Killian (Josh Brolin) tries to host the episode himself, a riot ensues. Molotov cocktails are thrown to burn the studio down, and Richards steps through the flames and unmasks himself before shooting and killing Dan with the “Fate” gun previously owned by Evan McCone (Lee Pace).

The Running Man Movie Trades Dark Vengeance For A Hollywood Ending, And It Totally Sucks

There are two main reasons why I hate the ending of Edgar Wright’s The Running Man, and neither concerns the simple fact that what plays out is different than the book. As stated, I understand why the filmmakers felt like it was too controversial. My issues instead extend from the fact that A) it’s a creative cop out that betrays the overall tone of the source material’s conclusion, and B) it doesn’t make any sense.

Regarding the former, the ending particularly stings after seeing Francis Lawrence’s The Long Walk a couple of months ago – an adaptation of another Stephen King book that was also first published with King’s pseudonym Richard Bachman. For decades, that novel’s darkness earned it the reputation of being unadaptable… and screenwriter J.T. Mollner crafted an ending that was even darker than what the author came up with (it’s so dark that I actually felt it went too far as I was watching it, though I came around to loving it after letting it stew in my brain). Meanwhile, the word that comes to mind when I think of the Running Man ending is “nerfed.”

On top of being a betrayal of the source material, adding insult to injury is that there are major logic problems. In saying that, I’m not referring to Richards’ survival – which is super lame but at least semi-plausible; the story has a much more significant impact with his martyrdom, but his becoming a revolutionary leader is… fine. When discussing logic problems, I’m talking about his wife and child being alive.

The extreme ruthlessness of the Network’s operations are on full display throughout the movie (which is to say that they don’t seem very choosy when it comes to having people killed), and Sheila and her daughter being alive represents a liability given that footage of their execution was featured on the show and broadcast to millions of viewers. Anyone aware of their survival would know that the Network is lying and question more of the “truths” that they’ve been sold – and the grocery store scene suggests that Sheila isn’t exactly living her life in the shadows/on the run. The Network has every reason to kill them and zero to let them live, but that fact is ignored in favor of an ending that is the most overt example of Hollywood bubblegum that I’ve seen in what feels like a long time.

This is perhaps recency bias talking, but I feel as though I haven’t been this let down by a movie all year – and I say that having mostly liked The Running Man and giving it a positive review. Stephen King movies, including Stand By Me, The Shining, The Shawshank Redemption and The Mist, have delivered some of the greatest endings in cinema history, but at present I’m leaning towards thinking that this one stands among the worst.

That brings an end to this week’s spoiler-filled (and admittedly disappointment-driven) edition of The King Beat, but in seven days, be sure to come back here to CinemaBlend for a fresh column examining the biggest happenings in the world of Stephen King. And if you’re curious what’s still on the way now that all six 2025 King adaptations have premiered, head on over to our Upcoming Stephen King Movies and TV guide to learn about all of the dozens of projects that have been announced/are in development.

If it weren’t for the existence of Brett Leonard’s The Lawnmower Man, Paul Michael Glaser’s The Running Man would easily earn the title of “loosest movie adaptation of a Stephen King story.” (King actually sued to have his name legally removed from the former). Elements of the author’s story remain – including the dystopian setting, deadly government-sponsored game shows, and a few character names – but the 1987 film is first and foremost an “Arnold Schwarzenegger Action Flick.” As a Schwarzenegger fan and recognizing the production for being very much of-its-day, I take no real issue with it for being that (and I particularly appreciate its endless deluge of puntastic one-liners)... but I’ve also wanted to see a proper faithful take on the source material ever since I first read The Running Man years ago.

Thankfully, I’ve never been alone in this want, and writer/director Edgar Wright has taken it upon himself (in collaboration with co-writer Michael Bacall) to make that desire a reality. Since the film’s inception, the stated raison d'être has been to properly bring King’s novel to the big screen, and that is very much what he’s done… up to a point. Faithful as most of the movie is, aspects that are changed in the third act end up having a detrimental effect to the story. It leaves a bad taste in one’s mouth even after enjoying the vast majority of the runtime.

Glen Powell stars as Ben Richards, a destitute man who is blackballed from work, but needs money so that he can care for his wife (Jayme Lawson) and sick infant daughter. Bereft of options, he volunteers himself for one of the dangerous state-sponsored game shows – hoping to win money while risking his health – but he catches the eye of smarmy, sadistic producer Dan Killian (Josh Brolin), and he winds up being recruited for the most popular and dangerous program of them all: The Running Man.

Hosted by the charismatic Bobby T (Colman Domingo), the show sees contestants sent into society and challenged to survive for 30 days as a fugitive. A team of Hunters, led by the notorious Evan McCone (Lee Pace), tracks Richards from city to city armed to the teeth and ready to execute, but the rebellious protagonist must also be wary of anyone and everyone, as cash rewards are given to those who provide tips to his whereabouts.

The Running Man very much is the story from Stephen King’s book – in sometimes great and unexpected ways.

First published in 1982, The Running Man is one of the select novels that Stephen King opted to publish under his pseudonym Richard Bachman, and while the reasons for him making that call are too complicated to fully explain in this space, the standout legacy of the Bachman books is a bear-hug embrace of darkness and cynicism. This was on proper display just a couple months ago with the release of Francis Lawrence’s staggering adaptation of The Long Walk, and for the most part, Wright honors it as well while also splicing in a welcomed level of fun. The movie has mostly been sold with bombastic action and rebellious protagonist, but the actual feature sports plenty of dystopian drama.

Charisma is a must for the character of Ben Richards, as his energy must be powerful enough to sway the opinions of the Running Man’s massive audience. Glen Powell is a great fit for the part in that respect – but the actor also impresses by maintaining the hero’s ever-simmering rage, which is what truly fuels him to survive. It’s effective because it’s an earned rage directed toward a world with only slightly more advanced issues than our own, including outrageous class disparities, limitless corruption, ceaseless propaganda, unaffordable healthcare and more.

Over the course of his journey, meeting allies and revolutionaries of various ilks along the way, Richards attains an ever-deeper understanding of everything that is wrong about his society, and it has the fire in him constantly growing. This is the most vital aspect of King’s book, and it’s actually surprising at points just how much makes it from the page to the screen.

As faithful as much of The Running Man is, it ends up lacking the vitally important bite of the book.

The tragedy of Edgar Wright’s The Running Man is that its faithfulness to its source material isn’t sustained through to the closing credits and creative choices that are made in the final 15 minutes prove to be disastrous. To be totally fair, I knew going into my screening that the ending was going to be changed, as Wright has been open about pivoting from the book’s conclusion as a way of skirting controversy, but I had faith based on his stellar track record that a satisfying alternative would be developed. It turns out that I should have been far more worried.

This isn’t a venue for spoilers (I’ll be writing a more in-depth piece about the ending later this week), but it can be said that the end of the movie is a let down in every single way. As dark and incisive as most of the film is, the way it wraps things up is preposterously safe and a betrayal of everything that comes before it. Not only is it deeply unsatisfying on a purely entertainment level, but the choices don’t even make sense in the context of the story, and that makes it worse and worse the more you think about it.

The Running Man looks great and has a lot of flair but also feels like the least “Edgar Wright-y” Edgar Wright movie

Being a massive fan of Edgar Wright’s since the days of Spaced and Shaun Of The Dead, I find myself legitimately shocked by how bad The Running Man’s final scenes are – but I’ll add that a another feeling I had throughout my screening was that the movie doesn’t feature the same kind of special flair that has long made the writer/director’s work stand out. There are a number of exciting and explosive action sequences, Wright making regular and enjoyable use of the eponymous show being filmed with drone cameras, but many of his trademarks are either absent or not as prominently represented.

His latest collaboration with editor Paul Machliss noticeably lacks the snap of their work on Scott Pilgrim vs. The World and Baby Driver, the clever foreshadowing the director likes to employ is minimal, and there are far fewer needle-drops than one expects. This can’t really be described as a detriment, as the movie has a great number of standout sequences and delivers high-energy cinema, but it does lack the bonus of being a definitive Edgar Wright film.

I never would have believed at the start of 2025 that I would end up calling The Running Man my least favorite Stephen King movie of the year, but following in the wake of Osgood Perkins’ The Monkey, Mike Flanagan’s The Life Of Chuck and Francis Lawrence’s The Long Walk, I can’t help but feel disappointed – and the ending is entirely to blame. It’s a “B+” adaptation that gets demoted to a “C” purely because of its awful final scenes, and it’s ultimately a unique species of bummer.

It’s been nearly twelve years since Edgar Wright walked away from Ant-Man and, for some fans, that still stings. The Baby Driver director was once set to bring his signature style to one of the Marvel Cinematic Universe films, only to part ways with Marvel Studios in 2014 over, you guessed it, creative differences. While Peyton Reed ultimately took the helm and delivered a hit, Wright's version remains one of the great “what-ifs” of superhero cinema. But could the director helm another new superhero movie? Well, someone asked him.

I've wondered if Wright might be open to tackling more superhero-based fare. So I was delighted when, during an interview with The Playlist, Wright finally addressed whether he’d ever return to the genre. The filmmaker -- who was there to discuss his 2025 movie release The Running Man -- delivered an answer that was about as dry as you'd expect. While he doesn’t slam superhero movies outright, it’s clear he’s not itching to put on the cape and cowl anytime soon. If you were holding out hope for him to lead an X-Men or Fantastic Four, well, brace yourself:

That creative mismatch seems to have steered Wright clear of the new Marvel movie machine and the genre altogether, at least for now. He added:

It’s a revealing comment from a director who’s built his career by zigging where others zag. From Hot Fuzz to Scott Pilgrim vs. the World, and even the slick, stylish chaos of Baby Driver, the best-ranked titles of Wright’s filmography have thrived on genre subversion, but always on his own terms.

That same instinct nearly led to a choose-your-own-adventure cut of Shaun of the Dead, he revealed in the same interview. While that version never happened, the idea of letting the story splinter into different paths based on one decision perfectly captures the way Wright thinks about narrative structure. It’s playful, risky, and, yeah, kind of bonkers. And, if (and that’s a big if) he ever decided to bring that energy to a Marvel film or a new DCU movie project, let’s hope the studio would give him the creative room to make it unmistakably his.

So, no, Edgar Wright won’t be lining up to direct the next Fantastic Four film or surprise-announcing a Batman Beyond flick. However, if you're looking for bold genre storytelling with an offbeat twist, you’ll still find him right where he belongs, and that is blazing his own path.

His next movie, the book-to-screen adaptation of Stephen King's classic The Running Man, opens in theaters on November 14.

1987’s The Running Man is arguably the least faithful Stephen King adaptation, but it was nonetheless one of Arnold Schwarzenegger’s biggest movies from that decade. So naturally there are people who will wonder what he thinks of the new take on The Running Man, which is already getting early positive buzz. Well, we can count Schwarzenegger among the supporters of Edgar Wright’s adaptation of King’s 1982 novel. Not only did he previously describe The Running Man as “incredible,” you can now see him giving his blessing to the filmmaker and its lead actor, Glen Powell, on the upcoming 2025 movie.

Wright shared the big moment on Instagram, with the video you’ll see below showing Arnold Schwarzenegger commending him and Powell for how their adaptation of The Running Man “upped” what he did nearly 40 years ago:

It’s high praise for Arnold Schwarzenegger to praise the new Running Man for being an improvement over his version. As the Terminator actor says at the beginning of the video, The Running Man is the only one of his movies he’s wanted to see “redone,” and it was done quite successfully in his eyes. He thought the action was “unbelievable and creative,” and especially got a kick out of the $100 bills used in this dystopic future. That’s because that have Schwarzenegger’s face plastered on them as a fun Easter egg, which was noticeable in the first trailer for The Running Man.

On that note (pun intended), Edgar Wright and Glen Powell ended their conversation with Arnold Schwarzenegger by giving him a blown-up copy of one of the $100 bills. I hope that the man who played Ben Richards in 1987 finds a special place to put that up in his home or another location of his choosing. That’s way too big a gift, figuratively and literally, to just sit in some corner gathering dust.

This footage of Arnold Schwarzenegger throwing his support behind The Running Man comes exactly one week until the movie is released. This time around, Glen Powell is playing Ben Richards, who competing in the same-named popular TV show to obtain money for his sick daughter. However, the only way Ben can win the full cash reward is if he survives 30 days of being hunted by professional assassins.

In addition to directing, Edgar Wright co-wrote The Running Man’s script with Michael Bacall. Glen Powell’s castmates include Josh Brolin, Colman Domingo, William H. Macy, Lee Pace, Michael Cera, Emilia Jones and Jayme Lawson, among others. The Running Man hits theaters on Friday, November 14.

The rest of us normal people have to wait a couple of weeks before we get a chance to see Edgar Wright’s new adaptation of Stephen King’s The Running Man. This seems especially unfair because it feels like everybody else has already seen it. Stephen King has seen it. Arnold Schwarzenegger has seen it. Now it turns out a bunch of high-profile directors have also seen it.

According to World of Reel, a special screening of The Running Man was held on the Paramount lot last week, and it contained a who’s who of A-list directors, including Taika Waititi, Jordan Peele, Ti West, Joseph Kosinski, Barry Jenkins, J.T. Mollner, Phil Lord and Christopher Miller, Joe Dante, and Walter Hill. At least one of those directors has confirmed seeing the film, as Phl Lord tweeted about the movie saying…

Lord also complimented star Glen Powell, saying he “tears it up” and calling him “Hollywood’s hardest working mensch.” There’s certainly no hedging in this post. Lord clearly loved The Running Man, and while most of the rest of the crowd that allegedly saw the movie haven’t posted publicly, it’s a safe bet they have similar feelings, considering it seems everybody seems to love it.

The fact that Paramount made a point of showing the film to so many top-notch directors would seem to indicate a certain amount of confidence in the final product.

Lord’s comments echo those of other big names who have seen the film. Glen Powell recently revealed that Arnold Schwarzenegger called the movie “incredible.” Stephen King saw it and called it “fantastic” and “Die Hard for our time.” King, especially, will be honest when he doesn't love an adaptation of his work. Those are two voices that carry a lot of weight. Their endorsements will mean a lot to both fans of the original novel as well as the original adaptation.

With The Long Walk being released earlier this year to a lot of critical praise, it's been a good year for Stephen King adaptations so far. The Running Man certainly has a different one, but it sounds like it will have plenty to say.

The words of filmmakers like Phil Lord are likely to excite movie fans, regardless of their feelings about The Running Man alone. Edgar Wright's filmography is full of banger after banger. He's arguably never made a bad movie. He’s got a track record of some absolutely incredible films, and it sounds like The Running Man may simply be the latest in a long line of eccentric, but incredible movies.

I’m certainly excited to see The Running Man next week. All of this positive buzz from great talents is raising the bar for the movie quite high. If it’s really as good as everybody says, it’s going to be something special.

Based on what a lot of actors say, it seems the hardest part of the job has to be the audition process. Most actors have to compete for major roles and then wait to hear back, with most who try out ultimately being rejected. It has to be quite a tough experience, but Glen Powell once had to go through what might be an even worse experience, waiting for Stephen King's approval after he thought he had a role.

Both the star of the forthcoming adaptation of The Running Man, Glen Powell, and the film’s writer and director Edgar Wright appeared at New York Comic Con, and (via People) Powell revealed that he had to wait for Stephen King’s approval of his casting. It seems it all came down to how King viewed one of Powell’s recent performances. The actor said…

It’s not uncommon for successful authors to get some degree of approval when their work is adapted to film. Stephen King is one of the most famous authors to ever live, and King has famously been frustrated by adaptations of his own work in the past. It seems that to allow for a new adaptation of The Running Man, King wanted to approve the lead actor.

Luckily Richard Linklater’s Hit Man was a pretty well-regarded film, and Powell’s performance was called out by many critics as a highlight. If nothing else it shows that Powell is capable of leading a major motion picture.

But even before King gave the green light to Powell’s casting, he also had script approval. Edgar Wright says it was just as nerve-racking to submit the script of the film and wait for the author’s ok. As he put it:

Getting approval as an actor from Stephen King would be stressful enough, as King is a clear cinephile who loves movies and watches a lot of them. But as a writer, I can’t imagine handing my writing over to King to get an opinion. I would probably have a coronary while waiting for a response.

Stephen King gave his approval for both the actor and script, and he has since seen The Running Man and also given a strong endorsement of the finished product. The Running man hits theaters next month.

One of my most anticipated projects on the 2025 movie schedule is Edgar Wright’s adaptation of The Running Man. The trailer alone shows Glen Powell in a ton of precarious action-packed sequences, and that includes one where he has to rappel down a building while only wearing a towel. Now, the actor has opened up about filming that sequence, and let’s just say it doesn’t sound like it’s for the faint of heart.

In this upcoming book-to-screen adaptation of Stephen King’s novel of the same name, we’ll see Glen Powell’s Ben Richards literally running for his life. The Running Man trailer shows him jumping off a bridge, fighting pilots in an airplane, and yes, rappelling while wearing essentially no clothes. While talking to EW about that near-nude scene, Powell said he was all for it at first, explaining:

For context, during this scene in the movie, Powell’s character is trying to take a shower in a place like a YMCA when he’s found by a group of people who are trying to hunt him down. So, he has to, as the title of the movie implies, start running. That leads to a point where his only option is to rappel off a roof.

The Top Gun: Maverick actor explained that the sequence is “pretty much all of Die Hard” in 10 minutes, which sounds intense. However, when you add in the lack of clothing, it becomes even more extreme.

It gets more challenging, though. While the Anyone But You actor had no problem with the scene and was all for his costume in it being a towel, he hadn’t considered what the weather would be like when they actually filmed this scene for the upcoming Stephen King movie. Recalling how the cold played into all this, Glen Powell said:

First of all, brrr. That sounds rough, even if you’re fully clothed. To do that and be wearing only a towel, that’d be so difficult. However, they did it, what we’ve seen of it looks great, and as Powell said, it made for “a real sight.”

You know, the Twisters star did say he called Tom Cruise to ask how to survive a movie like this, and now I see why that would have been so useful. He’s really going through it and fully committing to the action in The Running Man, and that seems to require a Mission: Impossible level of commitment.

It seems like it’s all going to pay off, though, because The Running Man looks action-packed and amazing. And you can see it, and Glen Powell doing an action scene in a towel, in theaters on November 14.

I think Edgar Wright is a fantastic filmmaker and Glen Powell is one of the best actors of his time, but when I heard they were teaming up for the upcoming 2025 movie The Running Man, it did not exactly sound like a slam dunk to me. You see, I understand that 1987’s Arnold Schwarzenegger-led adaptation of Stephen King’s novel (written under the “Richard Bachman” pseudonym) has its fans, but I am not one.

However, I am already a fan of this remake, which I understand is more faithful to the source material, based on the trailer alone (I, admittedly, have not read the book, either). Not only does it look like a blast, but it appears to be “correcting” a lot of the issues that I had with the original adaptation. Allow me to be more specific…

The Remake Gives The Hero A Tragic Backstory

In 1987’s The Running Man, Schwarzenegger plays Ben Richards, who is framed for murder (in a pretty unrealistic fashion, I might add) and sent to a prison camp that he escapes 18 months later. However, when he is captured once again, he is forced to participate in the eponymous hit reality show competition in which he must survive a literal fight to the death.

Powell’s version of Richards, whom the actor got into “bulletproof” shape to play, is not a convict but an average man unable to get a job, whose desperation to provide for his wife and ill child leads him to participate in the deadly challenge. I am a sucker for stories about family men or women pushed to the edge typically, and this version of The Running Man is certainly no exception already. Schwarzenegger’s Richards may also suffer a cruel injustice, but taking away the greater purpose to his survival makes me a little less engaged in his story.

The Movie Expands The Hero's Journey Beyond An Arena

Having never read Stephen King’s The Running Man, as I established, I did not realize just how different the Schwarzenegger-led adaptation was from the novel, especially in its depiction of the titular TV program. The film places Richards in an arena-like setting where he must take on a series of costumed “stalkers” one at a time over the course of an evening. If I were a fan of the book, seeing the movie in 1987, I think I would have been sorely disappointed by this amendment.

In the novel, Richards is tasked with surviving 30 freaking days of being chased by highly skilled assassins while travel anywhere he can to avoid being detected. I honestly did not realize that was part of the original story, and I think I would have had more fun with ‘87’s The Running Man if that element had been kept. Thus, I am really happy to see it incorporated into Edgar Wright’s version.

The Humorous Tone Is More Akin To My Taste

Speaking of Edgar Wright, I am especially happy to see him taking on this material because, having co-created one of the greatest horror-comedy movies of all time (Shaun of the Dead) and a few of the best action-comedy movies of all time (Hot Fuzz and Baby Driver), I absolutely adore his sense of humor. Based on the Running Man trailer, which sees Powell channeling Bruce Willis with some hilarious quips, it seems like he is bringing those same sensibilities to this adaptation, and in a way that I imagine will be easier for me to swallow than in the first film.

You see, while some call 1987’s The Running Man a movie so cheesy it’s awesome, I feel that it overdoes it with the cheesiness. I mean, Richard Dawson’s over-the-top performance as the show’s host – which a scenery-chewing Colman Domingo takes over this time – is perfectly on brand, and I can tolerate to stalkers’ ridiculous outfit to a point, but the way Schwarzennegger follows every kill with an increasingly infantile pun just grows tiresome for me. The trailer suggests the new film has a more keen handle on its humor, which I very much appreciate.

Ya know, I must admit, the one moment from The Running Man trailer that really sold me is when Michael Cera, reuniting with his Scott Pilgrim vs. the World director here, takes out a fleet of SWAT team members with his own elaborate, homemade traps like some unhinged, grown-up Kevin McCallister. I mean, I’ll buy my ticket for Glen Powell’s hero, but I’ll be looking forward to seeing Cera’s supporting ally character in every moment until he pops up.

Glen Powell is no stranger to high-impact action movie roles. But his latest project, the upcoming book-to-screen adaptation of Stephen King's The Running Man, might be his most punishing gig yet. The Hit Man star recently opened up about the toll filming the Edgar Wright movie took on his body, and let’s just say, it doesn’t sound like your average day at the office, but rather Top Gun levels of intense.

In an interview about the release of Running Man posted to Rotten Tomatoes’ official TikTok, Powell broke down the bruises and beatdowns he endured while playing Ben Richards in the upcoming remake of the classic King novel. The Anyone But You veteran explained:

That’s not promo fluff. The Hidden Figures veteran is the kind of actor who leans all the way in. You could see it in Top Gun: Maverick, as he endured Tom Cruise’s intense boot camp and training in real fighter jets. Now, swap jets for explosions, high falls, and chaos on foot, and you start to get an idea of what The Running Man is serving up. Powell continued:

This isn’t just "run through a fake explosion and go home with a paycheck" territory. This is fall-off-buildings, dodge-real-pyro, jump-from-fast-moving-vehicles mayhem. And Powell was here for all of it. The Twisters star added:

That quote tells you everything you need to know: Powell’s not just acting in this movie, in a lot of ways, he’s surviving it.

The Running Man is based on Stephen King's 1982 novel, published under the pseudonym Richard Bachman. The upcoming science fiction movie follows Ben Richards, a guy forced to join a deadly game show where the only prize is staying alive. With Edgar Wright—the mind behind Scott Pilgrim vs. the World—directing, you can expect a smart and stylish twist on the whole dystopian sci-fi thing. From the recently released first trailer, it’s clear that this remake is quite different from the campy 1987 version with Schwarzenegger, which I still think is awesome.

The Texas-born A-lister may have just signed up for one of the most physically demanding roles of his career, and his career already included flying Navy jets. Between the relentless stunt work, real-deal action scenes, and the Everybody Wants Some!! performer’s full-throttle commitment, The Running Man is shaping up to be something truly special. If Glen Powell says it beat him up, I believe him. And honestly? I’m so ready to watch every over-the-top second of it.

Despite all the physical hell its stars were put through, based on Wright's past work, I think viewers can expect some laughs along with the action in the upcoming 2025 movie release. But if you've read the super dark ending of The Running Man's book, something the '80s film skipped over entirely, you may be torn about wanting to see that on screen. I was a bit iffy at first, but after thinking it over, I’ve changed my mind and hope they go for that dark ending in this adaptation.

So, get ready for this action-packed and actually intense time, folks. The Running Man is set to hit theaters on November 7, 2025!

The temperature is climbing with the roster of 2025 movies coming into frame, and the competition is getting fierce. In fact, you could say it’s left everyone running for the next big hit. Puns aside, The Running Man’s impressive first teaser has made quite the impression with all who have watched it, with Glen Powell’s charms obviously being a key ingredient.

However, with great respect to our beloved dog dad and barbeque aficionado, I do have to say that another cast member in director Edgar Wright’s upcoming picture has my attention locked in. Which is why I need to talk about how Academy Award nominee Colman Domingo is not only winning the hearts of the audience, but he’s also been proven to steal the hearts of quite a few co-stars as well.

Colman Domingo’s Bobby T Is Born To Be A Scene Stealer

Continuing to ponder what it is about this man’s performance that’s got me jazzed to see it, I came to the conclusion that Domingo is a mix between Samuel L. Jackson’s bombast and Denzel Washington’s gravitas. That’s not to say neither man mentioned here couldn’t effectively switch sides, but seeing the character of Bobby T has me feeling that it is the perfect combination.

Edgar Wright’s recent anecdote in an Empire interview backs that call and more, as he recalled how announcing Colman Domingo’s 2025 Oscar campaign led to a prime BTS moment of proof:

You know something, this absolutely explains Colman Domingo’s 2025 Oscars dance party during one of the commercial breaks. Keeping the audience in tune with an evening of spectacle is basically the job of The Running Man host, and keeping the 300 extras Edgar Wright’s film employed to fill the audience probably made that a breeze.

That’s also the sort of thing that spills over into the overall production of such a massive undertaking. Sure enough, it’s not just the extras or the director who have taken to the Philadelphia native’s charms on this project. I hope you have a little more cheering in the tank, because co-star Katy O'Brian has something to say about the fabulous, magnificent Colman D too!

Katy O’Brian Just Got Me Even More Hyped For Colman Domingo’s Running Man Madman

Someone needs to give Ms. O’Brian a raise, stat. I don’t care how it has to happen, the marketing department needs to cut a check for the Love Lies Bleeding superstar, as she’s further hyping Colman Domingo’s appearance on social media. Previously, The Running Man cast member got fans going by claiming that the trailer “slaps so hard, my face hurts.”

That’s putting it mildly, as far as I’m concerned, which is thanks to what we’ve seen out of the execution team Running Man has served us. Seeing a little more room to spice things up, Katy O’Brian dropped another tweet that only doubled down on Mr. Domingo’s talents:

You honestly can’t buy this kind of enthusiasm, and it just keeps me going back to that trailer. If for some reason you haven’t watched that video yet, I have to thank and respect you for staying with me this long. As a reward, please enjoy this beautifully bonkers look at Bobby T and the world of The Running Man:

I will be the first to admit that our Mission: Impossible - The Final Reckoning crusher is indeed right. I don’t think I, or anyone else, really, could prepare for “this level of slay” coming out of The Running Man and Colman Domingo, specifically. There’s certainly a good amount of time to try, though, as the Glen Powell-led adaptation is set to streak into theaters on November 7th.

The original adaptation of Stephen King’s The Running Man is iconic in its own right. That being said, it was never a version loyal to the original text, so that made it ripe for the Edgar Wright directed 2025 movie that readapts the story for a modern audience. With that pedigree in mind, I didn’t know what to expect from a Glen Powell-led variant.

Ahead of watching the first trailer for Wright's new spin, co-written with Michael Bacall, I totally forgot to expect a Scott Pilgrim reunion in the cards. But as you'll see in the full-length clip above, Michael Cera pops up to fulfill the trifecta, as a wannabe revolutionary - complete with a...Super Soaker?

It actually makes a lot of sense, when you see he rigged some floors with electronic charges. Much like Edgar Wright's other action packed movies, Pilgrim included, the presence of bad ass action doesn't mean we don't get to have a little fun.

As for the rest of what we know about The Running Man, it’s pretty much what you’d expect - but through Mr. Wright’s killer eye for action and comedy. Glen Powell’s Ben Richards is still running for his life in the hellish version of reality TV.

Despite the traditional set up being alive and well, we do see some pretty huge differences here, as our hero has to survive 30 days of being tracked by various Hunters. Richards' motivations are also different, as instead of being the victim of a vicious cover up, our new friend with an attitude finds himself staring down the barrel of a different sort of threat: dystopia.

It's not all bad though, because as you can see below, Mr. Powell gets to use those skills of disguise he picked up in 2023's Hit Man:

Those changes connect straight back the source material, which you may see at times being credited to author Richard Bachman. For those of you who may not know it, that was just Stephen King’s pseudonym to write more than one book a year.

The so called "Bachman Books" also happened to be King's works of darker, dystopian fiction - which we’ve also seen through the trailer for The Long Walk. Of course, if you know The Running Man's super dark book ending, you're probably asking how in the hell they're going to get away with that!

I won't spoil it for anyone, but I wouldn't count on getting Stephen King's pitch black finale. Modern historical events have pretty much ruled that out; and how could you end a movie where Michael Cera wields a Psycho Hydro water gun with...those events?

The Running Man sprints into theaters on November 7th, in various premium formats to boot! So you can bet your ass I'll be locking in for a 4DX showing, hoping that the seat mounted water cannons get in on Michael Cera's electrifying hero moment.

I think a lot of us have felt that the 2025 movie schedule has cast a long shadow on the future of James Bond 26. With a lawsuit challenging 007's copyright status, Amazon-MGM Studios’ potential golden goose looked like they were going to put the brakes on the momentum the project seemed to be gathering. But apparently that’s not the case, as four major directors rumored are rumored to be taking meetings to be the conductor for this hype train.

Bond 26’s Directors Race Alleged Field Is A Winsome Mix

Per rumors being reported by Puck, the rumors of Amazon-MGM’s ambitious Bond 26 plans to get our hero back into theaters by the end of 2027 seem to still be in play. In fact, the lowdown from the publication has sources placing new 007 producing team Amy Pascal and David Heyman in the thick of evaluating this pack of helmers for the job:

Ok, this is getting more interesting than I thought. Naturally Villeneuve’s previous desires to direct Bond are a good fit, and the man’s been tipped before as a good fit. Also Edgar Wright is someone who’s definitely popped up in the past, specifically thanks to Last Night in Soho showing he’s someone who loves the classic 00-formula.

However, the newcomers to the fold are pretty huge standouts. Jonathan Nolan, a hit through narrative driven series like Fallout and a co-writer on The Dark Knight, would be a tremendous hire. Not to mention, Paul King, director of the first two Paddington movies, is a spirited choice as well.

With Edward Berger also in the mix, this could be a sign that the rumored Bourne reboot could be discarding his pitch entirely. It's a crowded field of top tier winners, but at this point you’re probably wondering what happened with Alfonso Cuarón’s rumored case to direct Bond 26?

Well, sadly, these rumors seem to confirm something we’ve heard for some time now, as this report says the Gravity helmer “recently took himself out of consideration.” This changing of the guard certainly gives this subject some much needed energy. And that naturally leads into the order of operations revealed when it comes to this next action-adventure epic.

What The Current Bond 26 Plan Looks Like, According To These Rumors

A new directing candidate for Bond 26 is cool and all, but what does this mean for the road map Amazon-MGM Studios has allegedly laid out? Well, Puck’s reporting claims that path is laid out. And if we’re looking at Bond 26 hitting theaters by the end of 2027, this hypothetical timetable tracks:

Honestly, I wouldn’t be surprised if a rough idea is already in the chamber, with long time James Bond writers Neal Purvis and Robert Wade laying out a framework for the post-No Time To Die introduction of the next Commander Bond. And if the directors in contention really are already thinking about their ideal 007, that also helps grease the rails for the casting process.

All that needs to happen now is for Amazon-MGM’s producing team to pick the vision that best suits their idea for James Bond’s future, and the team that suitably represents that vision. Which, even in the EON Productions era, usually presents the most hangups. But with the speed that's present in the recent days of this process, it doesn't sound insane to think that we might know who the next James Bond is at some point next year.

Considering the recent 007 legal woes that have threatened the future of the series, that feels like a simple walk across the gun barrel. But obviously all of this is far from gospel, so we have plenty of time to get our tuxedos to the cleaners for the big announcement; whenever that may be.

From playing the ever-cocky Hangman in Top Gun: Maverick to the cowboy Tyler Owens in Twisters, Glen Powell has ingratiated himself to audiences in the last few years with a slick demeanor and a big, bright, energetic smile… but we’ll see him in a very different kind of mode later this year playing Ben Richards in writer/director Edgar Wright’s remake of Stephen King’s The Running Man. The protagonist is a desperate man forced to become a fugitive to provide for his family, and he doesn’t endure it all with a grin across his face. Instead, it’s an attitude that Wright gave a three-word nickname on set: “Bad Mood Glen.”

This is only part of Glen Powell’s transformation that serves as the focal point for this week’s edition of The King Beat, as the actor’s discussion of The Running Man is paired with a glorious new look at Mike Flanagan’s The Life Of Chuck – which premiered last fall to rave reviews and will be heading to theaters this summer. There’s a lot to discuss, so let’s dig in!

Glen Powell Discusses The Importance Of Practical Stunts In The Making Of The Running Man And Embracing Bad Mood Glen

Glen Powell spoke about “Bad Mood Glen” earlier this month at CinemaCon in Las Vegas – where he joined Josh Brolin, Colman Domingo and Edgar Wright for an on-stage chat during a luncheon for convention attendees. The event immediately followed the Paramount Pictures presentation at The Colosseum at Caesar’s Palace, which featured the first-ever look at footage from The Running Man.

Compared to the 1987 film of the same name, the upcoming Stephen King movie was developed because of Edgar Wright’s passion to see a more faithful adaptation of the book – and part of that is not having Ben Richards be Arnold Schwarzenegger-esque and regularly slinging out one-liners (side note: I’d argue that The Running Man has the best collection of one-liners in all of Schwarzenegger’s filmography). Richards is a hero with a chip on his shoulder, and it was in discussing the character’s deportment that he explained Wright’s three-word nickname. Said Powell,

Originally published under Stephen King’s pseudonym Richard Bachman, The Running Man is a bleak book. The central premise is that a man essentially agrees to commit suicide via reality television so that his starving wife and sick child can live better lives. As a contestant on the titular game show, Ben Richards earns more money for his family the longer he is able to evade the program’s squad of trained hunters, but there isn’t a conclusion that sees him alive to live happily ever after with his loved ones.

Richards goes through hell as he tries to survive, and Glen Powell’s awareness of how Edgar Wright likes to make movies contributed to serious preparation on his part to get ready for the performance. The Running Man obviously employs visual effects (practically every modern major studio release does), but Wright is a filmmaker who understands the value of the practical and capturing moments in-camera. Powell felt compelled to meet the challenge, but he still ultimately felt that he was under-prepared:

The footage from The Running Man that was shown showcased plenty of action, including a fight with multiple parties aboard an in-flight airplane and a scene where Richards takes a hard fall into a sewer system. Having gone to the Tom Cruise School Of Filmmaking in the production of Top Gun: Maverick, Glen Powell was game to perform as much stunt work as he could – and he was motivated by the knowledge that audiences can feel and recognize the difference. Consciously or subconsciously, movie-goers are aware of the “tricks,” and striving for practical can change a film’s impact. Powell continued,

Here’s the bad news: non-CinemaCon attendees anticipating their first look at the upcoming Glen Powell movie will have to wait a little while, as the movie won’t be arriving in theaters until November 7, and Paramount Pictures isn’t quite ready to start ramping up the marketing campaign just yet. The good news for Stephen King fans is that there are two feature adaptations set to be released between now and then to whet appetites. Francis Lawrence’s The Long Walk will be marching to the big screen on September 12, and before that we’ll have…

The Life Of Chuck Trailer Fills One’s Heart With All Kinds Of Wonderful Emotions

The Stephen King adaptations arriving in 2025 are mostly of the “exceptionally dark” variety. I’ve already highlighted the bleakness in The Running Man; Osgood Perkins’ The Monkey is all about the inevitably of loss; The Long Walk could be renamed Death March: The Movie; IT: Welcome To Derry resurrects the nightmare that is Pennywise The Dancing Clown; and The Institute is all about a collection of kids who are kidnapped by a clandestine government facility.

The Life Of Chuck, however, possesses a different energy entirely, and the warmth one feels just watching the sub-two-minute trailer above is extraordinary.

For similar reasons to why the Stephen King novella on which the film is based reads as being challenging if not impossible to adapt, The Life Of Chuck is not a movie that is terrifically easy to “sell” in a trailer, but I have to applaud what has been cut together here, as it does a tremendous job capturing the atmosphere of the movie and the message that comes through the story. The dialogue from stars Mark Hamill and Kate Siegel about glimpsing the future and the worlds that exist within all of us is as beautiful as the shots of glowing skies and joy-filled dancing.

Of course, one thing that doesn’t escape my notice in the presentation of this trailer is the structure. If one were to watch this Life Of Chuck preview without any knowledge of the source material, one might assume that it is a traditional coming of age story that chronicles the eponymous protagonist’s existence from childhood to adulthood, but that would be a false assumption. Mike Flanagan’s presentation of the narrative is exactly the same as published by Stephen King in the 2020 collection If It Bleeds, which is to say that events play out in three distinct chapters that unfurl in reverse chronological order.

Chuck’s childhood is prominently featured in the trailer, but the story of the character’s upbringing and his discovery of a love of dance is the film’s third act. The first centers on a teacher (Chiwetel Ejiofor) who lives in a world that is seeing society fall apart and the world literally crumble, and he becomes fascinated by advertising that he starts to see everywhere featuring the image of a bespectacled man with the message, “Charles Krantz, 39 Great Years! Thanks, Chuck!”

In the second act, the lives of three people blissfully collide – one of the people being Charles Krantz (Tom Hiddleston). Magic is generated when Charles finds himself caught up in the beat of a busker drummer (Taylor Gordon) performing on a kit in a town square, and he initiates a wild dance with a beautiful stranger (Annalise Basso).

The final act brings everything together with the story of Chuck’s childhood, best summed up in the Walt Whitman quote, “I contain multitudes.”

The Life Of Chuck stunned audiences when it premiered sans distributor last fall at the Toronto International Film Festival, but an overwhelming response led to it being picked up by Neon, and it’s now set to arrive in theaters in June. It’s a life-affirming cinematic experience and a must-see – not just for Stephen King fans and/or Mike Flanagan fans, but for all movie fans.

That brings me to the end of this week’s edition of The King Beat, but for those of you regularly hunting for news and insights from the world of Stephen King, head back here to CinemaBlend every Thursday for a fresh column featuring the biggest headlines of the past week.

Last week, I had the chance to marvel at the incredible year this is for Stephen King fans around the world. Following the arrival of Osgood Perkins’ bloody and brilliant adaptation of The Monkey back in February, three more King movies are on their way to the big screen before the end of 2025 (Mike Flanagan’s The Life Of Chuck, Francis Lawrence’s The Long Walk and Edgar Wright’s The Running Man), and I had a chance to preview all of them while on the ground covering CinemaCon 2025. I was entranced by everything I saw and heard about the three extremely different films, as I not only got to watch impressive footage but also hear some great behind-the-scenes stories.

One of these great stories – specifically one told by Josh Brolin – leads this week’s edition of The King Beat, but it’s but one of three headlines in this week’s column digging into the latest news from the world of Stephen King. There’s a whole lot to discuss, so let’s dig in!

The Running Man Production Devised A Super Cool Way To Make Josh Brolin More Comfortable Performing While Looking Right At The Camera

When an actor does their thing in the making of a movie, the general idea is for them to ignore the existence of the camera. Creating an authentic performance means forgetting the artifice of the filmmaking process, and that’s hard to do if there is an over-awareness of the lens capturing your every move. This in mind, it’s somewhat understandable that Josh Brolin faced a special kind of freak out in the making of The Running Man when the shooting of a sequence required him to perform right down the barrel, so to speak.

Brolin spoke about this experience during an entertaining luncheon at CinemaCon last week where the actor participated in a Q&A panel with writer/director Edgar Wright and Running Man co-stars Glen Powell and Colman Domingo. He spoke about his time playing the villainous Killian in the upcoming Stephen King movie, and he specifically referenced a time on set when he was unnerved by a setup on set that required him to act directly into the camera. Said Brolin,

In The Running Man, Josh Brolin plays the film’s central antagonist: the lead producer of the Games Network, which is the state-run media channel that broadcast’s the film’s titular reality show. Some of the character’s key scenes in the book are intense one-on-one interactions with Ben Richards (including an early sequence where the protagonist is recruited to be on The Running Man), and Edgar Wright’s approach for at least one of these moments apparently puts us directly in Ben’s point of view.

Acting directly into a camera is hard not only because it forces a performer to recognize the existence of the lens, but also because it means that there is nobody opposite them to play off of emotionally. But Wright is an immensely talented filmmaker who works with other very talented people, and Brolin explained that the crew was able to devise an awesome workaround for this issue that ultimately made him more comfortable on set. He continued,

Cool, right?

The discussion of this special kind of invention behind-the-scenes of The Running Man has made me all the more fascinated by the film and excited for what Edgar Wright has in store… but it wasn’t just the discussion of the upcoming 2025 movie that amped my curiosity about the film.

After Getting An Early First Look At The Running Man, I’m Curious If/How The Stephen King Movie Will Adapt The Book’s Super Dark Ending

SPOILER WARNING: If you haven’t read The Running Man and don’t want to be spoiled on the ending (which may end up being adapted), you may want to skip down to the next section!

When it was first announced in early 2021 that Edgar Wright’s remake of The Running Man was getting made, I wrote a feature explaining that I felt two aspects of the source material would probably be better off getting changed – despite the whole initiative of the project being the creation of a more faithful adaptation than the 1987 movie starring Arnold Schwarzenegger. My first note was that protagonist Ben Richards should be cast with a Black actor (allowing the film to highlight systemic racial issues in our modern justice system)… but that notion admittedly went out the window as soon as it was announced that Glen Powell was playing the lead.

My second point was that it would probably be best if the remake didn’t directly adapt the dark, potentially controversial ending from Stephen King’s book… but based on the footage that was showcased at CinemaCon 2025 last week, the project might be ignoring that suggestion as well.

To rewind a bit, the reason why I felt the ending should be changed for the new movie is simple: the actions by the hero of the story are disturbingly reminiscent of the events that occurred on September 11, 2001. At the end of Stephen King’s book (which was first published in 1982), the protagonist is horrified to discover that the sinister Games Network not only doesn’t plan to deliver his earned prize money to his family after his participation as a contestant on The Running Man, but they have been straight-up killed. Emotionally devastated, Ben’s response to the news is to hijack a plane and fly it into the state-run media’s skyscraper headquarters.

I don’t think I need to explain beyond that recounting of events why that may not be the best direction for Edgar Wright’s upcoming film – but that’s why I was so surprised to catch a couple of standout moments in the Running Man CinemaCon footage. While that material has not yet made its way officially online, I was surprised to notice that there were shots of a fight aboard a mid-flight airplane and a pilot being killed. There wasn’t any specific context presented for these clips in the edit, but seeing them, my brain immediately clicked back to the extremely dark conclusion of the novel.

Overall, the first look at The Running Man suggested that the Edgar Wright film is going to be much more “fun” than the source material (as evidenced by a shot where Glen Powell lies on a bed and slaps his own tighty-whities-clad ass and Michael Cera kills a bunch of soldiers with a super soaker and an electrified floor), and I would be stunned if the blockbuster presented a faithful adaptation of the ending… but there is now enough evidence that makes me question that assumption. Frankly, though, that only makes me more excited to see the movie when it arrives in theaters later this year – specifically on November 7.

I’m Super Curious How One Plot Description Detail For Mike Flanagan’s Upcoming Carrie Will Impact And Change The Story From Stephen King’s Book

To be perfectly honest, I’m not totally sure what to expect from the Carrie series that is now in development from writer/director Mike Flanagan at Amazon MGM. On the one hand, Flanagan has an impeccable record when it comes to adapting the works of Stephen King – with Gerald’s Game, Doctor Sleep and The Life Of Chuck all ranking among the best King movies of all time – but this is also a book we’ve already seen adapted for the screen three previous times. What could the show possibly add to the massive legacy?

Going by new details that arrived online this week, one detail may be revelations about Carrie White’s father.

This week, Variety reported the news that actress Summer H. Howell is nearing the signing of a deal that will see her play the titular role in Carrie, and beyond the casting, the trade report also includes an official logline for the project. It reads:

Most of that information – from the domineering mother to bullying to telekinetic powers – is very familiar to anyone even remotely familiar with the story of Carrie… but the “father’s sudden and untimely death” part is new and intriguing. The paternal side of the eponymous protagonist’s genetic code is not something that has ever gotten any focus in previous adaptations of the Stephen King novel, and I wonder how significant a hook it will be in Mike Flanagan’s vision.

In the book, Carrie’s father is Ralph White, a fundamentalist Christian and construction worker who dies in an accident prior to his daughter’s birth – but it seems that the show will be going in a different direction with the character. Instead of Carrie being raised by Margaret as a single mother, it seems her dad will be around into her teenage years and potentially home schooling her before his “untimely death.” If this is the case, I have three standout questions: 1) Will investigation into his demise be a plot point on the show? 2) What will having Ralph around mean for the characterization of Margaret? 3) Will the paternal presence reveal more about the origins of Carrie’s psychic abilities?

Mike Flanagan has promised that there is an answer to the question of “Why remake Carrie again?” and I wonder if this detail about the developing project may be significant insight. The show hasn’t gotten an official series pickup yet, but that news is expected imminently, and when that news comes, we’ll hopefully get to learn more about the plans for the adaptation.

That brings us to the end of this week’s edition of The King Beat, but as always, I’ll be back next Thursday here on CinemaBlend with a brand new column digging into all of the latest news from the world of Stephen King.

Glen Powell is presently on the path to become a major Hollywood star. He turned a lot of heads a few years ago with his scene-stealing turn opposite Tom Cruise in Top Gun: Maverick, and he has since shined brightly in the romantic comedy Anyone But You and showcased a lot of charisma as a storm chaser in Twisters. He's in the process of showing movie-goers that he can do a lot of different things very well, and I love the comparison that has been made by director Edgar Wright to a pre-Die Hard Bruce Willis for his role in the upcoming The Running Man.

Based on the novel by Stephen King (published under his pen name, Richard Bachman), The Running Man isn't set to hit theaters until November, but Empire has a published a preview of the film, and it includes interesting commentary from Wright about his leading man. When Die Hard was released in 1988, audiences principally knew Bruce Willis from his role on the TV series Moonlighting, and the writer/director thinks that Glen Powell is capturing a similar energy with his performance in the upcoming thriller:

In the year 2025, we look back on Bruce Willis' career thinking of him as a confident, invulnerable action star, but when Die Hard first came out, audiences invested in the fate of John McClane because they saw him as the funny detective David Addison. We've seen Glen Powell fly jets and track tornados, but there will be a question in the minds of movie-goers if he can survive racing through American society with a huge target on his back.

While many are probably aware of The Running Man via the Arnold Schwarzenegger film from 1987, the upcoming Stephen King adaptation hones much closer to the book – which features a protagonist who is not Schwarzenegger-like in the slightest. Ben Richards is a destitute man living in a dystopia, and when he becomes desperate to afford medicine for his sick child, he volunteers to compete in one of the state-run TV network's dangerous and deadly game shows.

In the Schwarzenegger film, the hero is basically dropped into a maze-like set that sees him do battle with a collection of deadly, themed foes, but the source material is much more grounded and sees Ben Richards released into the world and hunted in cities and suburbs. He not only has to evade a team of trained killers but also must be aware that people are rewarded for snitching on his location. This was an element that Edgar Wright was particularly excited to explore with his version of The Running Man, as he explained to Empire:

The Running Man's stellar cast also includes Josh Brolin, Lee Pace, Katy O'Brian, Daniel Ezra, William H. Macy, David Zayas, Jayme Lawson, and Colman Domingo, and production began late last year. Following Osgood Perkins' gory and hilarious The Monkey and Mike Flanagan's The Life Of Chuck, it's set to be the third Stephen King movie released in theaters in 2025, and will be playing on the big screen everywhere on November 7.

We lost a legend, and there’s no denying it. Yesterday, Gene Hackman, his wife Betsy Arakawa and their dog were found dead in their home. While we learned about this in the early hours of the morning, many of Hollywood’s greats did not wait to post tributes, as Francis Ford Coppola, Viola Davis, George Takei and more honored the late great actor and his family on social media.

Legendary director Francis Ford Coppola worked on the film The Conversation with Hackman. Using his Instagram to pay tribute to the actor, the filmmaker posted a BTS image of them working together, with the following heartfelt message:

The greats truly are recognizing greats here. EGOT winner Viola Davis was quick to post her tribute to The French Connection star. Using a headshot of the actor, the actress used her IG caption to honor him and note some of her favorite works of his, writing:

Antonio Banderas also got in on the tributes. After Hackman and his wife were found dead in their Santa Fe home, many were left in shock and are sending their condolences to their family and loved ones. That’s exactly what The Mask of Zorro actor did, too, writing on IG:

Josh Brolin was also “crushed” by this news.

The Dune actor posted an image of Hackman and Arakawa on his Instagram to mourn this devastating loss. Noting the actor’s iconic filmography – which includes some of the best movies of the 2000s, ‘90s, ‘80s and ‘70s – he wrote:

George Takei also posted about this death in the early hours of the morning. Citing an obituary posted about the late actor, the Star Trek legend wrote on X:

Along with actors, and like Coppola, many filmmakers paid their respects to The Royal Tenenbaums actor and his family.

A Simple Favor director Paul Feig took to X to post his tribute, citing The Conversation (the film Hackman made with Coppola) as a movie that changed the way he saw acting:

Meanwhile, Edgar Wright kept his tribute simple.

The Baby Driver director retweeted Mubi’s X post about the news. He didn’t say much, but his two simple words are effective and the message I’d like to leave us on:

Gene Hackman truly is one of the greats, and he always will be. From critical classics like The French Connection and Unforgiven to 1978’s Superman (which is one of the best Superman movies) where he played Lex Luthor to modern cult classics like The Royal Tenenbaums, he truly left a remarkable mark on cinema. His legacy will be remembered forever.

We here at CinemaBlend send our thoughts and condolences to Gene Hackman and Betsy Arakawa’s loved ones during this tragic time.

Writer/director Edgar Wright's upcoming remake of The Running Man has been in production for a few weeks now, but just because cameras are rolling doesn't mean that the film is done adding exceptionally talented actors to its ensemble cast. The movie already features a lineup that includes Glen Powell, Josh Brolin, Katy O'Brian, William H. Macy, Lee Pace, Emilia Jones, Michael Cera and more, and now it's being reported that Oscar-nominee Colman Domingo has signed on as well.

According to Deadline, the Rustin and Sing Sing star has come aboard the production to play a key character in The Running Man – namely the host of the titular show. It was a role memorably played by Richard Dawson in the 1987 film starring Arnold Schwarzenegger, but with Edgar Wright's movie set to be a more faithful adaptation of the novel by Stephen King (written under the pseudonym Richard Bachman), audiences can expect the part to be quite different.

In the new movie, Glen Powell is starring as Ben Richards – a destitute man living in an America that has gone full-on dystopia. In order to get medicine to care for his sick child, he volunteers to compete in one of the dangerous game shows produced by the government-sponsored television network. He ends up being a contestant on the nation's most popular show, The Running Man, which sees him sent out into the world to be hunted as a fugitive. The longer he can stay alive, the more money goes to his family.

The 1987 movie features Richard Dawson's Damon Killian as the principal villain of the film, but Edgar Wright's adaptation will feature Colman Domingo's character as a secondary antagonist. He will be the smiling face of the nefarious Network, encouraging viewers to be on the look out for Ben Richards and report sightings, but it will be Josh Brolin's TV executive who will be the main baddie of the story.

While Domingo Colman's career goes back to the mid-1990s, The Running Man will be his first time appearing in a Stephen King adaptation. The project is now one of three 2025 movies in which the actor will appear, as he is playing Joe Jackson in the Michael Jackson biopic Michael and is in Anthony and Joe Russo's upcoming Netflix blockbuster The Electric State.

The Running Man is one of as many as six Stephen King adaptations arriving this year, and it is now only months away from hitting theaters, as Paramount Pictures has dated the thriller for November 7. Stay tuned here on CinemaBlend for all of the latest updates about the film, and for a weekly roundup of the biggest events going on in the world of Stephen King, check out my Thursday column The King Beat.

In reflection, 2024 was a pretty big year in the history of Stephen King. The author’s latest short story collection, You Like It Darker, arrived in bookstores; Gary Dauberman’s Salem’s Lot was finally released after spending years on a shelf; and fans everywhere celebrated the 50^th anniversary of King’s seminal novel, Carrie. Looking ahead, though, 2025 promises to be even bigger – and all of the excitement will begin with the arrival of Osgood Perkins’ The Monkey in February.

The Monkey is one of as many as six Stephen King adaptations set to arrive in 2025, and leading off this weeks’ edition of The King Beat is a special extended preview of the film showcasing its wild horror and comedy sensibilities. But that’s not the only headline, as Edgar Wright’s upcoming adaptation of The Running Man has changed its release date (for a very good reason), and the author shared a wonderful goodbye to 2024 online with a wonderful friendly face. There’s a lot to discuss, so without further ado, let’s dig in!

Extended The Monkey Clip Is A Stellar Blend Of Death And Hilarity

Everything that we know about Osgood Perkins’ The Monkey suggests that it is going to be unlike any Stephen King movie we’ve ever seen before. Fans are used to the author’s less scary/more dramatic stories at this point in his career, but The Monkey is brand new territory on the big screen: a horror comedy. All signs point to laughs and screams coming in equal measure with the new release, and further solidifying that image is the brand new extended look above, which is both super dark and super funny.

To celebrate Christmas and the start of Hanukkah, Neon has released a full scene from The Monkey, and it delivers quite a taste of what to expect from the upcoming Stephen King adaptation. The clip begins with Aunt Ida (played by Schitt’s Creek’s Sarah Levy) waking up in the middle of the night to what sounds like distant circus music. Perturbed, she gets up and starts slowly investigating her house with a giant gun in hand… and things end up going quite badly for her.

She falls through her wooden basement steps, gets her face punctured by a collection of fishing lures, gets her head set on fire by a malfunctioning stove (the flame accelerated by rubbing alcohol she uses on her wounds) and she presumably ends up getting impaled on a real estate sign in her front yard. It’s quite a way to shuffle off this mortal coil!

For those of you who don’t quite understand all of the madness going on here, The Monkey (based on the Stephen King short story of the same name) tells the story of twin brothers, Hal and Bill, who end up getting cursed with the possession of an exceptionally dangerous toy: a smiling, drum-playing monkey. In short, whenever the evil thing is activated, people in the protagonists’ life die in ultra-horrific ways – and Aunt Ida ends up being one of its many victims.

Christian Convery and Theo James play the dual roles of Hal and Bill as children and adults, and in addition to Sarah Levy, the impressive supporting cast of the movie also includes Elijah Wood, Tatiana Maslany, Rohan Campbell, and Colin O’Brien (Osgood Perkins himself also plays a role, hinted at with a picture of the filmmaker in the new clip sporting sunglasses and a set of impressive mutton chops.

The Monkey is Perkins’ follow-up to Longlegs, which was one of my favorite movies of 2024, but this new clip and everything we’ve seen from the new feature suggests that it is going to be a wholly different kind of cinematic experience. Like I’m sure many of you are, I’m counting down the days until the film plays in theaters on February 21, and we are now down to less than two months of waiting. Be sure to stay tuned here on CinemaBlend for more about the release as we get closer to its arrival.

The Running Man Runs Away From Wicked: For Good, Gets A New, Much Better Release Date

If you pay even a modicum of attention to the business of the movie industry, then you are probably aware that Jon M. Chu’s Wicked is a massive hit. Premiering opposite Ridley Scott’s Gladiator II in mid-November, the musical has turned into a box office smash and one of the biggest hits of 2024, having earned nearly $600 million worldwide so far in its theatrical release.

Following this success, there is expectation that the upcoming 2025 sequel, Wicked: For Good, will be even bigger… which is why it is probably for the best that Edgar Wright’s upcoming remake of Stephen King’s The Running Man is shifting its release plans and will now be arriving in cinemas two weeks early.

While the original plan from Paramount Pictures was to have The Running Man play in theaters for the Thanksgiving 2025 holiday, the studio has understandably gotten cold feet and has performed a light pivot for the film’s distribution. Instead of coming out on November 21, the dystopian action film will now be arriving on the big screen on November 7 – and Deadline notes that this is particularly interesting because it means that the film will be able to play on IMAX screens (which wasn’t going to be possible if it were going up against Wicked 2).

Co-written by Wright and Scott Pilgrim vs. The World co-writer Michael Bacall, The Running Man is the second movie based on the King book (originally credited to his pseudonym, Richard Bachman), but unlike the film starring Arnold Schwarzenegger, this adaptation will be far more faithful.

Glen Powell stars as Ben Richards, a destitute man living in a broken society who, desperate to afford medicine for his dying child, volunteers to star in a government-produced reality program. As a contestant on the movie’s eponymous show, he ventures out into society as a fugitive, and the longer he can stay alive, the more money he can make. Ordinary citizens are rewarded for providing tips that lead to Ben’s capture, but while the protagonist is on the run, he ends up connecting with rebels who open his eyes to a major conspiracy.

The stellar supporting cast of The Running Man includes Josh Brolin, Lee Pace, Katy O’Brian, Michael Cera, William H. Macy, and David Zayas. Production began in November and is on-going.

It should be noted that the Stephen King movie currently isn’t alone on the release calendar being dated for November 7, 2025, as 20^th Century Studios has also selected that date for the big screen debut of Predator: Badlands – which, unlike Wicked: For Good, will be targeting the same core demographic as The Running Man.

Will the films try to co-exist in that window, or can we expect a game of chicken to play out until one of the titles decides to shift plans? We’ll have to wait and find out (either way, you can probably expect to read more about this 2025 release schedule conflict in future editions of The King Beat).

Stephen King Says Goodbye To 2024 With A Message From Molly a.k.a. The Thing Of Evil

One major Stephen King-related development from 2024 that I didn’t highlight in my opening paragraph concerns the author’s social media usage. For years, King was one of the most popular users on Twitter, regularly using his page to share movie/TV/book recommendations and tell groan-worthy dad jokes, but he opted to delete his account in recent weeks, citing that the atmosphere on the platform had become increasingly toxic. Fortunately for Constant Readers, however, he has since found other homes for his online commentary, and this week, he used his personal Bluesky account to send a special happy holidays message to his fans.

Those who are familiar with King’s online presence are fully aware of Molly a.k.a. The Thing Of Evil, King’s adorable pet corgi, and the canine pal gets a sweet close-up in one of the author’s newest posts. You can check out a screenshot of his holiday message below, and be warned now that you may involuntarily find yourself going, “Awwwww.”

Molly’s nickname may dub her as The Thing Of Evil, but those eyes in the photo send the message of pure innocence. Hopefully, both she and her wonderful owner have a happy and healthy 2025 ahead of them – and I’ll personally hitch on to King’s message also hoping that all of you reading this feature enjoy the holidays and have nothing but luck going into the new year.

That brings us to the end of this week’s edition of The King Beat – which is my final column for 2024! For my regular readers, I hope that I’ve provided special insight into the world of Stephen King over the last 12 months, and I continue to plan to do so in the year ahead. As always, I’ll be back next Thursday with my latest roundup, and in the meantime, you can discover the full history of King on screen with my series Adapting Stephen King.

One project that is quickly becoming one of my most highly-anticipated upcoming 2025 movies is The Running Man remake from writer/director Edgar Wright. The cast has already been stacked, between Glen Powell and Josh Brolin joining in a key role as well last week, but now there’s going to be a big Scott Pilgrim vs. the World reunion too, and the excitement is only growing.

Michael Cera has apparently closed a deal to be part of the cast of The Running Man, per The Hollywood Reporter. Since Edgar Wright is the filmmaker behind Scott Pilgrim as well, that means that the Stephen King adaptation will be a reunion between the beloved film’s director and lead over a decade after they first worked together! It will be soon too, because The Running Man will reportedly start filming at the beginning of next year.

Scott Pilgrim feels like one of those movies that came out at the wrong time, because when it was released, it pretty much bombed at the box office. Many years later, the movie has become a cult classic, with its cast only becoming bigger stars since, and a new generation of fans watching it for the first time. Cera recently reprised his role of Scott Pilgrim for the Netflix anime Scott Pilgrim Takes Off. Wright was executive producer on the series, but now these two can really come together in person for the first time in a while.

The Running Man is one of the upcoming Stephen King movies that’s starting to feel more and more special everyday, given all the talent involved. Glen Powell is already hyped to play the role Arnold Schwarzenegger played in the 1987 adaptation. The dystopian action film follows an impoverished resident of Co-Op City who joins a government-operated reality show with a violent twist in order to provide for his wife and daughter.

Michael Cera will play, as described in the article, "a naïve rebel who tries to help the desperate man" in The Running Man, and he’s joining a solid cast that also includes Love Lies Bleeding’s Katy O’Brian, Lee Pace and as The Hollywood Reporter shared in the same article, Emilia Jones of 2022 Best Picture winner, CODA.

Sufficed to say, Michael Cera’s role in The Running Man will not have the same cadence as his beloved role in Scott Pilgrim vs. the World. That being said, it’s great to see the actor take on another major movie following going viral for playing Alan in last year’s highest-grossing movie and Academy Award winner, Barbie. We imagine Cera has become even more popular since last summer thanks to the scene-stealing part.

The Running Man earned a prime release date too, on November 21, 2025, which will have it directly competing with the second Wicked movie and coming out a few days before Zootopia 2.

From The Goonies to Coen brothers movies to the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Josh Brolin has left footprints in just about every area of pop culture, but here's an interesting piece of trivia for you: he's never been in a Stephen King adaptation before. That's a bit odd given the breadth of his work... but that is a wrong that is soon to be righted, as the actor has landed a key role in one of the most anticipated upcoming King projects: he's set to play the villain in Edgar Wright's developing remake of The Running Man.

This news comes to us via Deadline, which clarifies that Josh Brolin will be playing the powerful network executive who oversees the operation of the film's titular reality show (the character's name in the book is Dan Killian, but the trade report doesn't specifically say that will be his name in the film). It's excellent casting, as Brolin is a performer that has the capacity to give the antagonist a powerful, sinister presence as well as flashy, toothy smile.

The Running Man is based on the book of the same name that was first published in 1982 with Stephen King's pseudonym Richard Bachman. Unlike the 1987 adaptation starring Arnold Schwarzenegger, the new movie will be much more faithful to the dark source material. Glen Powell is set to star as Ben Richards, a man out of options and desperate for money so that he can support his wife and sick child. Making the ultimate sacrifice, he decides to volunteer for one of the dangerous reality programs orchestrated by the government-sponsored TV network, and he is selected to star on the channel's most popular show.

As a contestant on The Running Man, Ben essentially becomes the world's most wanted man, and in addition to the protagonist having trained hunters tracking him down, the show's viewers are compensated for providing tips that lead to his capture and execution. The longer he survives, the more money his family gets after his death.

In addition to Josh Brolin and Glen Powell, the movie is also set to star Katy O'Brian, Daniel Ezra and Karl Glusman. Edgar Wright and Michael Bacall (who previously collaborated on Scott Pilgrim vs. The World) are co-writing the adaptation of the Stephen King book.

Brolin has been quite busy in 2024 – a year that has seen him return as Royal Abbott in the second season of Prime Video's Outer Range and star in Dune: Part 2 and the new comedy Brothers with Peter Dinklage. In addition to being in The Running Man, his upcoming projects include Rian Johnson's new Benoit Blanc mystery Wake Up Dead Man and Zach Cregger's follow-up to 2022's breakout horror hit Barbarian (titled Weapons).

Production on the new movie is set to begin before the end of the year, and Paramount Pictures has already announced that the film will be getting a theatrical release on November 21, 2025 (one of at least three Stephen King features set to come out in the calendar year – the others being Osgood Perkins' The Monkey and Mike Flanagan's The Life Of Chuck). Be on the lookout for more updates about The Running Man in the coming weeks/months here on CinemaBlend, and you can enjoy my weekly roundup of all things King-related with my Thursday column The King Beat.

When it comes to upcoming Stephen King movies I’ve been hyped to see, Edgar Wright’s The Running Man remake is definitely high up on the list. The dystopian thriller made for a great ‘80s action movie, but I’m just as fired up as Glen Powell is to see him star. As the production hits the ground running, the film has just found an official place among upcoming 2025 movies on November 21, 2025. However, I’m more excited about the actor who just joined the cast.

Katy O’Brian, who played Imperial communications officer Elia Kane in Seasons 2 and 3 of The Mandalorian, will star in Paramount’s The Running Man movie with Glen Powell, per The Hollywood Reporter. Star Wars aside, the 35-year-old actress has been really making a name for herself lately, between being part of the third Ant-Man movie, starring in Love Lies Bleeding earlier this year, and being cast in the next Mission: Impossible film, too.

O’Brian is a really interesting talent because her skill set and experiences are so diverse. She is a martial artist who has a black belt in hapkido. She also received a personal trainer certification at one point and was a bodybuilder who took part in competitions before starring with Kristen Stewart in a movie about the bodybuilding world, Love Lies Bleeding, which also became one of best A24 movies we’ve ever seen after it was released this year.

Not to mention, O’Brian was even a police officer in her home state of Indiana for some time before booking early roles in shows like The Walking Dead, Black Lightning and Westworld. She definitely gave a standout performance in The Mandalorian as a villainous character who is chosen to carry out Moff Gideon's orders.

It sounds like The Running Man could be a huge role for her. It makes sense given she had a small role on Twisters as a mechanic and member of the team Powell’s character of Tyler had put together for storm chasing.

In The Running Man, Glen Powell has been set to play the leading role of Ben Richards, whom Arnold Schwarzenegger played in the original 1987 film. The Running Man novel takes place in the year 2025, which makes the year it will be released absolutely perfect. It’s about Ben going ahead with a desperate attempt to bring in money for his family in the dystopian future by turning to something called The Games Network, which is a government-operated TV station that runs violent game shows. After going through a series of trials to be considered, Ben is selected to be part of the program.

Per the new report, O’Brian will play one of the fellow contestants in the program Ben fights to stay alive for his ill daughter and wife. As the rules in the novel goes, Ben earns $100 every hour he is able to stay alive in the program and avoids being captured. He can earn extra for every law enforcement officer or hunter he kills. If he survives for 30 days, he will receive the grand prize of $1 billion.

Edgar Wright, who has been behind movies like Shaun of the Dead, Scott Pilgrim vs. the World and Baby Driver, is directing the movie and co-writing it with his Scott Pilgrim collaborator Michael Bacall. It’s time to count down the days for its holiday release date next November.

It’s been a little over three years since it was announced that director Edgar Wright was going to take a whack at adapting Stephen King’s The Running Man, but the project is now getting closer and closer to becoming a reality. It was announced earlier this year that one of Hollywood’s hottest young stars, Glen Powell, is set to star, and now production is gearing up to start in the fall. We don’t know much about the vision for the film other than the fact that it’s going to be much more faithful to the source material than the 1987 film starring Arnold Schwarzenegger, but thanks to Powell’s most recent comments about the movie, I’m more hyped than ever.

Glen Powell is presently on the press tour for Twisters, which arrives in theaters this Friday, and he spoke a bit about The Running Man remake during an interview with Indiewire. The actor confirmed that the upcoming Stephen King movie will be starting principal photography before the end of the year in London, and the enthusiasm he expresses about the project is infectious even via transcription. Said Powell,

For those who aren’t aware, the aforementioned cheesy-but-great 1987 adaptation of The Running Man bares very little resemblance to the book on which it is based (which Stephen King originally had published with his pseudonym Richard Bachman). Glen Powell will be playing Ben Richards, a destitute man living in a dystopian future who needs to make money fast so that he can buy medicine for his sick and dying child. In an act of pure desperation and at great risk, he volunteers to be a contestant for the Games Network, a government-operated television station, and is selected to compete in the nation’s most popular show: The Running Man.

The opportunity means Ben will have the chance to win $1 billion dollars – but that’s only if he can survive for 30 days as a fugitive in society with a team of Hunters on his tail and everyday people offered prizes if they provide tips that lead to his capture and/or execution. The longer he can stay alive and on the run, the more money his family gets as compensation for his sacrifice.

Glen Powell is not just hyped to be a part of Edgar Wright’s vision but to work with the writer/director in general. The Top Gun: Maverick star told the interviewer that it has long been an aspiration to work with the filmmaker behind Shaun Of The Dead, Hot Fuzz and Baby Driver, and now that dream is coming true:

According to Glen Powell, having the opportunity to work with one of his “heroes” means that he is going to really put his all into the making of The Running Man. He expressed pride in his work ethic in general, but he sold himself to Edgar Wright for the project by telling him that he plans on giving the project everything he has. Said Powell,

The Running Man starting production in the coming months means that we’re likely going to be hearing a lot more about the project in the coming weeks. We know Michael Bacall (Scott Pilgrim vs The World) is penning the screenplay for the Stephen King adaptation, and Paramount Pictures is producing/distributing, but hopefully we’ll soon learn about release plans and who will be joining Glen Powell in the cast.

Sydney Sweeney is one of the hottest stars in the world right now. Her films on the 2024 movie schedule alone have kept her relevant, and so it's little surprise that she would be wanted for a film that might be the beginning of a major new tentpole franchise.

Barbarella, the controversial erotic comic of the 1960s that was famously adapted into a Jane Fonda-starring film, has had a remake in development for some time, but it looks like the film is now on the fast track. Here's what we know about the new Barbarella right now.

What Is The Barbarella Release Date?

At this point, it's anybody's guess when we’ll see a new Barbarella movie that's polished enough to hit theaters. Sydney Sweeney's initial confirmation about starring in Barbarella came back in 2022 and the project's wheels have only begun to turn in Hollywood recently. Having said that, even recent progress doesn't indicate just how long it'll be before the new flick can begin filming, never mind gearing up for a merch-filled release in theaters.

Sydney Sweeney’s next big project is a biopic about professional boxer Christy Martin. After that, we know that the long-in-flux Euphoria Season 3 is set to film in early 2025. If Barbarella is the actress's next project after that, and that's not a sure thing, it likely won't be filming before mid-2025 at the earliest.

Add in the extended post-production that will likely be necessary for all the digital effects that a major science fiction tentpole would require, and we’re probably looking at a movie that couldn’t come out before the summer of 2026. That assumes a script is ready, and we don't know that's the case.

Sydney Sweetney Will Lead The Barbarella Cast

At this point, only a single cast member has been confirmed for the new Barbarella movie, and that’s Sydney Sweeney herself for the title role. It will make for Sweeney's first big jump into a genre franchise outside of Madame Web, which didn't work out too well.

Beyond that, since we don’t necessarily know what the new movie will be about, it’s difficult to even guess who might appear in the movie since we don’t know what characters will appear in the script.

There are a few characters from the original French comic who did appear in the previous film adaptation. Professor Ping, an elderly man who assists Barbarella, a blind “angel” named Pygar, and the villain the Black Queen all make appearances in the 1968 film, so there’s a decent chance they could appear in the new version as well. Especially if the new movie turns out to be a remake of the original film, rather than an all-new adaptation of the source material.

Who Will Direct Barbarella?

No director has been officially attached to the new Barbarella movie, but Deadline reports that One Night in SoHo and Baby Driver director Edgar Wright has been approached by Sony and entered talks to direct. Wright agreed to help with early development, but without committing to direct the project just yet.

Edgar Wright certainly isn’t a bad choice. He dabbled in science fiction in The World’s End and his hyper-stylized take in fellow comic adaptation Scott Pilgrim vs. The World might be just what a new take on Barbarella needs. If Wright does come on board, Barbarella would presumably have to wait until he’s done writing and directing his adaptation of Stephen King’s The Running Man, which stars Sydney Sweeney’s rom-com partner Glen Powell.

Who’s Writing Barbarella?

While no official writers of the new Barbarella adaptation have been confirmed, the same Deadline report that addressed Edgar Wright’s potential involvement also claimed that mother/daughter duo Jane Goldman and Honey Ross have been approached about writing the film. Goldman is also co-writing The Chain, another upcoming Edgar Wright project, which possibly gives the report more credence.

Goldman wrote the screenplay for X-Men: First Class and the story of Days of Future Past. She also handled script duties for the first two Kingsman movies. It seems likely that a successful version of Barbarella could easily be a franchise vehicle, and Goldman has a history in that.

What Will Barbarella Be About?

Without a script, we can’t know for certain what the story of a new Barbarella movie would be. Considering the character’s original comic book ran from 1964 to 1978, there are plenty of different storylines that could be adapted, assuming that the new movie plans to adapt any of them, as opposed to creating something completely original using the character.

What we can say about a Barbarella movie is that it will be a science fiction movie that sees the title character going on some sort of adventure through space, and it will also involve Barbarella having a not-insignificant amount of sex. Barbarella was a fairly controversial comic in its day due to the fact that it used the kid-friendly medium of comics to depict content explicitly designed for adults.

The 1968 Jane Fonda Adaptation

The 1968 film adaptation starred Jane Fonda as the title character tasked by the President of Earth with the job of finding a scientist named Durand Durand. In this peace-loving galaxy, the brainiac developed a weapon that has the potential to return the concept of war to civilization.

From there the story takes a somewhat episodic, comic book-style approach, that results in Barbarella traveling to different settings, meeting new people, and going on spacey adventures that, frequently enough, involve her having sex with somebody.

Today the movie is seen as a cult classic, but while it was boundary-breaking and seen as a fairly sex-positive and even feminist film in its day, that day has long been past. The sexual and gender attitudes come across as quite dated, doubly so for a future-set narrative. A modern Barbarella certainly has an opportunity to update some of these ideas and by doing so tell a 21st-century Barbarella story.

Barbarella is likely at least a couple of years away, but whatever the future holds, we'll be tracking this project and keeping details updated as more news is released.

The Running Man, one of the best action movies ever made, will soon be getting not only a fresh coat of paint, but pretty much an entire remodel, as Edgar Wright will soon bring the upcoming Stephen King adaptation to the big screen. With a cast that includes Glen Powell, a story that appears to be more faithful to the original novel (originally published under the Richard Bachman pseudonym), and Wright’s signature touch, this could be one of the best upcoming book-to-screen adaptations we see for a while.

Come with us as we break down everything we know about The Running Man, including its release date, massive cast, and so much more. 

What Is The Running Man Release Date?

 We’re not through the 2024 movie schedule yet, but we’re already looking forward to all those promising 2025 movies, including The Running Man, which is set to open in theaters on November 21, 2025. If this date sticks, Edgar Wright’s upcoming sci-fi movie will be competing against Wicked: Part Two, which is also set to open a week before the Thanksgiving holiday weekend.

What Is The Running Man About?

For those who have never read the book or watched the 1987 film based on it, The Running Man is set in a dystopian future where people participate, or survive a dangerous and deadly game show where they are pitted against powerful and oftentimes ridiculous “Hunters” (“Stalkers” in the movie) in what can best be described as a Stephen King version of American Gladiators. 

When  Deadline  reported on Glen Powell’s casting in April 2024, the outlet described the novel as a chase thriller, which is admittedly a great description of the story, as so many of the memorable scenes are those where Ben Richards, the desperate protagonist, is running from the diabolical enemies.

The Running Man Cast

Glen Powell has been on a tear the past few years thanks to megahits like Top Gun: Maverick, Anyone But You, and more recently, Twisters. And that will continue well into the immediate future, as Powell is also set to lead The Running Man. However, he isn’t alone, as some big-time talent is set to share the big screen with the on-the-rise Hollywood leading man.

Glen Powell as Ben Richards

Glen Powell will be taking on the role of Ben Richards, a desperate man who finds himself in a fight for survival after getting on a popular yet violent game show in The Running Man. Powell’s involvement was first announced in Paramount Pictures’ CinemaCon panel back in April 2024.

Josh Brolin

In October 2014, Deadline reported that Josh Brolin was joining the Running Man cast as one of the film’s villains, though his character’s name has yet to be announced. Brolin previously played Thanos in some of the best Marvel movies, a character that remains an all-time great big bad after all these years.

William H. Macy

William H. Macy will also be in The Running Man, as THR reported back in October 2024. His exact identity is not yet known, but Macy is set to play a man who assists Ben Richards on the run.

Katy O’Brian

In October 2024, Deadline reported that Kay O’Brian, who previously shared the screen with Powell in Twisters, was joining the cast as an unnamed contestant in The Running Man. O’Brian has also appeared on shows like The Walking Dead, The Mandalorian, and numerous others.

Daniel Ezra

In October 2024, Deadline reported that Daniel Ezra, of All-American fame, had joined the Running Man cast. His role has not yet been announced.

Karl Glusman

Fans of Karl Glusman’s work in movies like Bikeriders and Civil War will be happy to hear that the actor has landed a role in The Running Man, per Deadline. However, his character’s identity remains a mystery.

Michael Cera

In October 2024, THR reported that Michael Cera would be in The Running Man, which will serve as a Scott Pilgrim vs. the World reunion for the actor and Edgar Wright.

Lee Pace

According to Deadline, Lee Pace, best known for roles in Guardians of the Galaxy and Bodies Bodies Bodies, will be showing up in The Running Man. We don’t know too much about his character at this time.

Emilia Jones

At the same time Cera was announced to be joining The Running Man, THR announced that Emilia Jones would be taking on the role of a woman blind to the government’s oppression.

When Can We Expect The Running Man Trailer?

Considering we’re a little more than a year out from The Running Man hitting theaters, it will probably be some time before we get to see Glen Powell’s take on Ben Richards in the highly anticipated action flick. With the film slated for a November 2025 release, it wouldn’t be all that surprising for footage to be shown off at CinemaCon next spring before being released to the general public during the summer months, maybe before Christopher McQuarrie’s Mission: Impossible 8, which will open on May 23, 2025.

Edgar Wright Has Said His Version Of The Running Man Will Be Faithful To Stephen King’s 1982 Novel Of The Same Name

Though the 1987 version of The Running Man is considered one of the best Arnold Schwarzenegger movies, it’s not really a faithful adaptation of the 1982 Stephen King (written under the pseudonym Richard Bachman) novel, at least in the eyes of Edgar Wright. When speaking with the  Happy Sad Confused  podcast in December 2023, the filmmaker revealed that he never really saw the original movie as an adaptation, stating:

Though he didn’t provide any details as to how his version will be a more faithful outing than what came before, Wright would also say that The Running Man novel was “something  crying out to be adapted .” 

Edgar Wright Has Been Developing The Running Man Since 2021

Edgar Wright has been one of the busiest names in show business for the past few years thanks to film projects like Last Night in Soho and The Sparks Brothers, TV shows like the Netflix animated series Scott Pilgrim Takes Off, and various other creative endeavors. And during that same stretch of time, Wright has been actively developing his adaptation of The Running Man. Back in February 2021, Deadline reported that Wright was working with Paramount Pictures to make a new movie based on Stephen King’s novel. 

No timeline was provided at the time, but more than three years passed between the initial announcement and the April 2024 news of Glen Powell serving as the film’s lead.

Scott Pilgrim Vs. The World Screenwriter Michael Bacall Co-Wrote The Running Man With Edgar Wright

Back in February 2021, when word began to spread that Edgar Wright was working on adapting The Running Man, it was also reported that one of his collaborators was helping make the dream become a reality. According to Variety, Michael Bacall, who co-wrote Scott Pilgrim vs. the World with Wright nearly a decade-and-a-half ago, was helping the filmmaker adapt the 219-page novel into a film.

Bacall, who has acting credits for movies like This Boy’s Life, Inglourious Basterds, and The End of Love, has written a handful of great scripts over the years, including the aforementioned Scott Pilgrim vs. the World, 21 Jump Street (and its 2014 sequel), and Project X, to name a few. 

Production Reportedly Got Underway In November 2024

Though Paramount Pictures hasn’t come out and confirmed the news, it appears as if production on The Running Man has gotten underway. In November 2024, The Daily Mail published a series of photos that were reportedly captured on the set of the upcoming sci-fi movie in the United Kingdom, with star Glen Powell walking around a set that could best be described as having an ‘80s aesthetic. 

We should know more about the shoot soon, so make sure to check back for more information in the coming weeks and months.

What Will The Running Man Be Rated?

The MPA has yet to come out and give The Running Man a rating (the film is still in production), but it would be a shocker if this wasn’t rated R for its theatrical release. Most of Edgar Wright’s movies – Shaun of the Dead, Hot Fuzz, Baby Driver, Last Night in Soho – have all been rated R, as was the original The Running Man back in 1987.  

This Version Of The Running Man Is Not Associated With Arnold Schwarzenegger’s Alleged Attempts At Making A Sequel To His 1987 Adaptation

You might have been able to figure it out by now, but Edgar Wright’s The Running Man is in no way connected to  Arnold Schwarzenegger’s alleged attempts to get a remake in the works for his 1987 dystopian classic. Back in November 2014,  Digital Spy  reported that the iconic action star spoke at a London Q&A session where he said there were “rumblings of a new Running Man movie,” and that it was “a great honor to be asked back.” 

Schwarzenegger never elaborated on his comments at the time, but years later, in 2022, Giant Freakin Robot reported that the actor who first played Ben Richards back in 1987 was reportedly actively developing The Running Man 2. Though fans may have been hopeful at the time, there haven’t been any further updates since.

There are still quite a few things we don’t know about the new adaptation of The Running Man but expect to hear more in the coming weeks and months. In the meantime, now would be a good time to go back and revisit some of Edgar Wright’s best movies.

Paul Michael Glaser is one of Arnold Schwarzenegger's best movies, filled with wild action and terrific one-liners, but any Stephen King fan will tell you that it bares almost zero resemblance to its source material. The same character names pop up in both the film and the book, and they are both works of dystopian fiction, but they are otherwise two very different approaches to the central conceit. 

One person who is very aware of these differences is writer/director Edgar Wright, and it's apparently a big thing driving him in the creation of the remake he currently has in the works.

It was first announced all the way back in February 2021 that Wright is making a new adaptation of The Running Man, and he provided an update about the project as a recent guest on the Happy Sad Confused podcast. Acknowledging that the movie is in "active development," he explained that his interest in the film is fueled by the fact that a faithful adaptation doesn't currently exist. Said Wright,

The Running Man was first published in 1982, a few months after the release of Cujo, and it's particularly significant in the Stephen King canon because it is one of the author's books that he published under the pseudonym Richard Bachman. The relatively short novel is set in the year 2025 and features a version of America that has become a totalitarian state. Protagonist Ben Richards is desperate to get money so that can get medicine to treat his daughter's pneumonia, and this leads him to the Games Network: the government-affiliated television station that airs particularly brutal reality programming.

Richards is selected as the new contestant for the network's most popular game, The Running Man, which essentially turns its subjects into wanted men who have to go out into the world and avoid detection for as long as possible. Citizens are encouraged and incentivized to become informants, and a group of agents known as Hunters are deployed to capture and kill him.

This is clearly a plot that is very different than what goes down in the Arnold Schwarzenegger movie, and it's the story that Edgar Wright wants the chance to tell with his adaptation. He explained on the podcast that it was producer Simon Kinberg who approached him about the project, and while it hasn't been an easy film to nail down, the material is clearly calling to him. Wright continued,

The fact that The Running Man isn't easy to adapt as a movie is actually the reason why screenwriter Steven de Souza incorporated so many differences in the making of the 1987 film. Part of the problem was having Arnold Schwarzenegger playing Ben Richards ("I have a hard time believing Arnold Schwarzenegger is unemployed, even in a dystopian future!" he explained), but there are also archaic elements in the story (like Richards having to mail videos of himself to the Games Network to update audiences on his status). Certain elements will definitely have to change for the remake, likely including the approach to the very disturbing ending.

We aren't presently aware of Edgar Wright carving out a potential production schedule for The Running Man, and the project doesn't have a set release date, but it is at the very least nice to know that it's a movie that is still in the works nearly three years after it was first announced. Stay tuned here on CinemaBlend for the latest updates about the project (I'm keeping fingers crossed it could end up on the 2025 calendar), and you can learn about all of the King adaptations presently in the works with our Upcoming Stephen King Movies and TV guide.

The success of co-writer/director Greta Gerwig’s 2023 movie release Barbie feels reminiscent of that moment 15 years ago when Iron Man first put the MCU on the map. Toy-based movies, especially ones based on Mattel products, are now starting to head up in development, and Hot Wheels is the next project that could be revving up at the starting line. 

As this potential major motion picture saw producer J.J. Abrams jump on board last year, a new report from THR has noted that a director is now being sought out for development. If Warner Bros. wants to strike it rich again, there are a couple of parties they should be considering to jump into the Hot Wheels driver’s seat.I have a solid list of competitors for the job, so without any further delay, here’s my lineup of directing talent intended to give this automotive saga the boost it deserves.

The Wachowskis

With Hot Wheels already set up in development at Warner Bros, it’d be nice for someone with a home court advantage to be involved. Not to mention, it helps if whoever’s being considered has experience with the sort of kinetic action and racing drama this Mattel IP will surely inspire. 

On both of those fronts, it feels like a no brainer to enlist Lana and Lilly Wachowski as the brains to bring these toy cars to life. As if decades of working with this particular studio wasn’t enough of a reason to have these talented ladies sign on the dotted line, they’ve practically auditioned for the gig already. 

In the 15 years since its release, the world has found reasons to support Speed Racer, an under-appreciated film that is slowly getting its due. While this isn’t quite the sequel they’d already had planned for that 2008 thrill ride, Hot Wheels is a chance for The Wachowskis to revive their hyper colorful “car-fu” aesthetic for another spin on this new track.

Neill Blomkamp

The more anyone talks about Hot Wheels as a movie, the more opportunities come up for people to doubt just how you’d make a movie based on this lore-less toy brand. It’s a challenge that sees two solid options as a start: either find a real-life story that somehow has a clever tie into the toys, or dive head first into an imaginative pitch. Luckily, director Neill Blomkamp could do both.

In my Gran Turismo review, I celebrated Blomkamp’s efforts to not only tell a grounded true story, but also to honor the Sony PlayStation game to which it was connected. So if there’s a hook in either of those respects, you could see Neill succeeding at making these tiny cars into a big deal. 

In this scenario, I’d personally hope for Neill Blomkamp to go for the more imaginative fiction route. That's thanks to his District 9 sensibilities suggesting some neat racing drama and killer track designs with some sci-fi flare to them. Either case would be a win, as Neill brings the same hunger and precision to either side of the reality spectrum. 

Joseph Kosinski

Looking at the qualifications I feel are required to make this sort of project work, another familiar name popped up in consideration. Thanks to his work on movies like Tron: Legacy and Top Gun: Maverick, director Joseph Kosinski is another gold star candidate to shape this universe into something that’d be a true delight to see.

Maverick feels especially important in this case, as that Tom Cruise blockbuster was a perfect blend of speed, heart and white knuckle suspense. Mr. Kosinski is even brushing up his automotive action chops at the moment thanks to his Formula 1 movie that allegedly has Brad Pitt driving some real race cars. 

As work on that project is more than likely stalled thanks to the WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes currently in place, Joseph Kosinski might not have room on his dance card for Hot Wheels. Then again, developing this idea to take off as soon as he’s able to complete that Apple original film might be a good move for his future self. 

Lexi Alexander

Speaking of those early Marvel Cinematic Universe days, there’s another creative talent who could very easily make some excitement in the burgeoning world of toy-based movies. Director Lexi Alexander oversaw the underrated Marvel movie Punisher: War Zone, delivering a fresh take on costumed heroes long before the market even knew it needed such a thing.

Hot Wheels is just the sort of project that could use her various sets of skills to its advantage. As an experienced director of television episodes from the Arrowverse, as well as being a veteran stunt performer herself, Ms. Alexander could develop a truly bonkers version of this movie that delivers the thrilling experience that producer J.J. Abrams wants to deliver. 

On the wild chance that Warner Bros could want a harder edged, but still PG-13 movie on its hands, Lexi Alexander is a fantastic choice for that sort of aim. Though even in the realm of safe for network action, her prowess would still be able to wow the crowd while dialing down the carnage.

James Mangold

How do you discuss racing movies without at least mentioning Ford v. Ferrari’s James Mangold? Considering how well received that racing biopic happened to be, I feel like I’d be a fool for not mentioning Mr. Mangold in this line of contention. 

As the Logan director has tackled plenty of blockbusters and indie films in his time, the greatest asset James brings to the table is his ability to work with any era of this landmark brand. If Warner Bros wants a retro Hot Wheels caper, that Ford v. Ferrari and 3:10 to Yuma magic can shine again. 

Should the studio want something more modern or futuristic, James Mangold’s time in the X-Men universe would be the key to that project. Then again, all caution could be thrown to the wind, allowing Mangold to tackle the whole toybox. There’s a chance that he just might make us all cry while delivering the goods. 

Christopher McQuarrie

Another busy bee who might not have the bandwidth to get into Hot Wheels, despite being a perfect fit for it, is Mission: Impossible - Dead Reckoning Part One’s Christopher McQuarrie. As a writer and director on the last few installments of Tom Cruise’s ongoing espionage thrill ride, McQ’s efforts to deliver hard driving action and engaging storytelling is another formula that could run this toy-based world. 

Though he’s continuing to drive the bus for the adventures of Ethan Hunt, with ideas for Mission: Impossible 9 already in mind, McQuarrie is still a prime choice to put into this sandbox. It may have to be a more effects-driven shoot, as the world of Hot Wheels isn’t totally rooted in reality, but you can be assured that Christopher McQuarrie would get as practical as possible with the Mattel IP. This would admittedly give a certain edge to those crashing fantasies every kid would play out with their own set of these miniature motor vehicles.

Edgar Wright

For my final choice in this challenge to find the right director for Hot Wheels, I'm going with another heartfelt favorite. Edgar Wright is a director that grabs from all of the bags mentioned throughout the rest of the pack. 

He’s worked with colorful IPs like Scott Pilgrim that have become colorful cult favorites, as well as had experience with the MCU machine thanks to his cancelled version of Ant-Man. And yet again, the ace in deck for Wright’s potential hiring comes from his practical experience with adventurous car stunts thanks to Baby Driver. 

Combining his past experiences with his unique voice, Edgar Wright could turn Hot Wheels into a subversively pulp journey. Plus, the Cornetto Trilogy mastermind wouldn’t skimp on the color or the soundtrack to help drive what would be insane thrills. If Mr. Wright were ever to consider trying to make a massive blockbuster again, Hot Wheels is the sweet spot that would allow him to make it his own while also staying in the lane of this particular brand.

As we’ve now crossed the finish line, it’s time for me to remind you all that sadly, everything above is pure speculation. How long that will remain a reality is a mystery, as Warner Bros. sounds pretty set on finding a director for Hot Wheels as soon as possible. In the meantime, fans can enjoy Barbie’s finished product, as it’s still dominating the box office at a theater near you; a fact that could only intensify this search even further in the days to come.

Edgar Wright’s Scott Pilgrim vs. The World is a movie that not everybody loves, to be fair, but it has to be agreed that it is, without question, one of the geekiest movies ever made. Those of us that love it, love it deeply for the way it goes all in on its premise and creates a wild world where real life and video games collide. And in a move that only the crazy minds that brought us that movie could devise, we’re finally getting a Scott Pilgrim vs. The World follow-up…that is also an anime…that also will include the entire cast of the film.

Edgar Wright dropped the news on Twitter that Netflix has given the green light to a Scott Pilgrim anime and that the entire movie cast, from Michael Cera and Mary Elizabeth Winstead to Chris Evans and Brie Larson, will be back to reprise their roles from the film. Not only that but Edgar Wright and original Scott Pilgrim comic creator Bryan Lee O’Malley are acting as producers.

Wright says that the new anime will “expand the universe” but he also teases something more, without really explaining what he means. He clearly thinks what is being created here is something special, but what exactly any of it is we can only speculate right now. All we can be sure of is that if you liked the movie, you should be excited about the anime.

And it’s pretty impressive that they were able to get literally everybody in the case of the original film back to voice the anime. That’s quite simply a lot of people you have to get on board, and quite a few of them, most notably Evans and Larson, are much bigger stars now than they were when they made the original movie. They have very busy schedules making blockbuster movies. But Larson especially has made her love for the Scott Pilgrim film clear in the decade-plus since its release.

And the original film isn’t even the only way that the new anime will apparently tie into the Scott Pilgrim universe. In response to a fan, Wright indicates that the anime’s soundtrack may be getting handled by Anamanaguchi, the chiptune pop band that wrote the music for the also fondly remembered Scott Pilgrim vs. the World video game.

The original comic was obviously strongly influenced by Japanese manga, and the movie could itself be considered a live-action, anime, so seeing the story become an actual anime feels like the ultimate form of Scott Pilgrim finally becoming real. It will be interesting to see just what this is once it comes out. The film and the comic had slightly different endings, so it will be interesting to see where this new series picks up. The only unfortunate thing about all of this is we have no idea how long we’ll have to wait to see it.

Though the history of Marvel movies in order is a massive machine at this point in time, the humble beginnings that built it were sometimes a bit rough. Coincidentally, one such scenario was the making of Ant-Man, which was originally set to be directed and co-written by Edgar Wright. Some massive creative differences came to pass, and ultimately the project moved in another direction, which has led co-writer Joe Cornish to discuss just why Wright’s take on the hero didn’t work in the MCU.

Related: Marvel Movies In Order: How To Watch The MCU By Release Date And Chronologically

As The Playlist spoke with the Attack the Block director for its in-house podcast, this oft-visited subject of discussion came up once more. Offering a fresh viewpoint on what exactly prompted the shift to Peyton Reed’s Ant-Man variant, which still credited him and Wright as story writers, Joe Cornish provided the following explanation: 

In his remarks, Cornish brought up the fact that Ant-Man kicked off its development before Iron Man had really hammered in the start of the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s meteoric beginnings. What “overtook” the Joe Cornish/Edgar Wright script was the fact that by time it was getting closer to production, a pre-Phase 1 Scott Lang just wasn’t going to cut it for Marvel Studios. 

The road maps had started taking form, and the machinery was in place to continue building to The Avengers and beyond. So Adam McKay and Paul Rudd changed the script through some punch-up work that turned the film into what you can currently revisit, should you have a Disney+ subscription. This was something that may or may not have added additional injury to the situation overall.

Joe Cornish’s sentiments track what Edgar Wright said about Ant-Man, as his collaborator/director stated that while he was all in on Marvel, they weren’t all in on his style. Over the years, we’ve seen the wake of this massive “what if” scenario lead to revelations like that of Wright admitting he’ll never watch Ant-Man. Ultimately, the story does have a happy ending, as Last Night in Soho’s mastermind is on quite good terms with Kevin Feige after letting the dust settle over several years. 

Years after Ant-Man almost fell apart, Edgar Wright has continued to make “Edgar Wright movies,” and the Marvel Studios lineup has, for better or worse, continued as planned with only some alterations. The franchise in question is in a pretty good place too, as Paul Rudd’s MCU hero is about to jump into the fray again with next month’s Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania. 

Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania is set to crawl into the Quantum Realm on February 17th. For all other movies arriving at a theater near you in the coming year, Marvel or otherwise, the 2023 new movie releases schedule has all the information you could need... at least, for this specific part of the multiverse. 

Getting a text from your friends can, in some cases, make a good day into a great one. No one knows this better than writer/director Edgar Wright, who recently revealed that he received what he considered to be a “dream text” in the recent past. All it took was a moment in Top Gun: Maverick, one of 2022’s new movie releases, to send Wright off on a joyful quest to make one of the film’s scenes absolutely perfect.

Wright revealed this story while promoting his BBC Maestro class in an interview with THR. Recalling a moment in 2020 when he got to watch the Tom Cruise legacy-quel before the world at large, the Last Night in Soho director was given a special task. As you can read below, it was an assignment that Edgar Wright absolutely was cut out for: 

Leave it to the director who assembled the insanely rankable Baby Driver soundtrack to come in and save the day with music. With Edgar Wright consulted specifically to help boost one of Top Gun: Maverick’s scenes involving the bar run by Penny Benjamin (Jennifer Connolly), he helped nail that setting as a hub for the most important characters in the film. It also helps that Wright probably made some more fans by selecting Foghat’s “Slow Ride” as one of the songs to do it.

Though in the context of this interview, the fact that Christopher McQuarrie asked Edgar Wright for notes on Top Gun: Maverick is even funnier. When he was asked for notes on McQuarrie’s previous film, Mission: Impossible - Fallout, Wright suggested 15 minutes be trimmed, much to the writer/director’s chagrin. Perhaps those sorts of critiques could have saved Kenny Loggins’ re-recorded tracks that didn’t make it into Maverick’s final cut. 

With Edgar Wright watching an earlier Top Gun 2 cut, you have to wonder how blown away he must have been when hearing “Hold My Hand” for the first time. Being the musically minded man he is, he was probably doubly blown away when noticing how and where Lady Gaga’s song pops up in the score for Top Gun: Maverick. Possessing an ear and an eye for his own flights of musical fancy, Mr. Wright certainly knows his way around another creator’s jukebox, and touches like those must have made him smile. 

Top Gun: Maverick may not currently be available with a Paramount+ subscription, but the 1986 original definitely is. At the moment, you’re only able to buy or rent the sequel through PVOD, or check it out in a theater near you. However, home entertainment enthusiasts will be able to get their hands on the physical copy of Maverick starting November 1st. If you want to hear more about Edgar Wright’s musical selection process, you can check out his Last Night in Soho ReelBlend interview to dig into that subject a bit more.

The 1987 film The Running Man is remembered as a cult classic, aligning itself with the big action films of the 1980s and helping to further Arnold Schwarzenegger as one of the biggest movie stars in the world. The film was adapted from the Stephen King novel of the same name. However, for the on-screen adaptation, screenwriter Steven de Souza made a number of changes to make the film more cinematic than King’s writing in the book. Now filmmaker Edgar Wright wants to try his hand at adapting The Running Man, and de Souza has some thoughts on the matter.

De Souza reflected on the changes he made for the film that differed from the book. He found the game show within King’s book to be quite bland and difficult to translate on screen. Instead, de Souza wanted to emulate the game shows of the 1980s by including a charismatic host played by Richard Dawson and spotlighting different contestants. He also changed the way contestants were chosen for the game show by making it more high tech. In the book, contestants were chosen by a lady coming out of a box holding an envelope. de Souza wondered how this will be handled in the remake, saying: 

Clearly the adjustments de Souza made were important for storytelling and to capture audience sensibilities of the time. It's been over 30 years since the film was released, but Wright still may face some of the struggles De Souza had when adapting King’s original novel. The Baby Driver director will most likely be faced with making the novel more accessible to today’s audience, and thus will have to make adjustments for cultural relevance.

Edgar Wright is known for his very stylized projects and also has experience putting together high action, so I’m sure The Running Man will fit in well with his filmography. He is set to write the film along with Michael Bacall who previously worked with Wright on Scott Pilgram vs The World. The new take on The Running Man is also said to take place in 2025, so the script will definitely be updating the technology from the original film to better reflect a contemporary world.

The cast for the upcoming project also hasn't been announced, so it’s unclear if Arnold Schwarzenegger will return. His casting in the original film contributed to Steven de Souza’s version of the script, so Schwarzenegger's influence on Wright’s announced project is to be determined. De Souza has also admitted to disliking the use of early deep-fake technology in the 1987 film, so this is another area Wright can maybe improve upon in the conception of this remake.

The release date for Edgar Wright’s The Running Man is still unclear, but you can check out his latest critically acclaimed film Last Night in Soho with an HBO Max subscription. You can also revisit Steven de Souza’s 1987 vision for The Running Man, by streaming it on fuboTV. 

Scott Pilgrim vs. The World follows Scott, a boy in love, who has to fight off his girlfriend Ramona’s Evil Exes. These seven exes, which are so many we can rank them, try to destroy Scott throughout the movie. On top of that, he has to fight off Envy Adams, this popstar ex. Honestly, I think her song and performance may be more memorable than any of the exes, because of the way Brie Larson played her. Over a decade after the movie’s release Larson has posted some fun tidbits about creating the movie and has one request for its director Edgar Wright. 

While we know lots of behind-the-scenes facts about Scott Pilgrim Vs. The World, Larson recently gave us some new BTS content. She posted some photos of her and her band, which is named Clash at Demonhead, to her Twitter, reflecting back fondly on her experience. Check it out: 

Larson is musically inclined, she will post videos on her Instagram of her singing and playing guitar. This fills my nostalgic heart with joy because it always brings me back to her epic performance as Envy where she sings “Black Sheep.” During the performance, Larson rocks out in a black dress with some epic red, lace-up heels, which she is now asking Wright if she can have. She tweeted: 

While those heels look like a bitch to walk in, I would also want them because they are so iconic. With Larson’s career since Wright’s movie, she hasn’t gotten much of a chance to dress this campy and rock n’ roll, so I see why she wants them back. It’s also clear that Larson still thinks fondly of her time making Scott Pilgrim as she posts about it every so often, like when she tweeted a video of her re-learning her choreography years after the movie was released. 

Along with the boots, the song “Black Sheep” has become one of the stand-out moments in the movie. While Larson does sing the song in the film it took them 10 years to release her version of “Black Sheep” to the public. Then, on the movie's 10th anniversary the song made its way back to the Billboard charts because it was re-released as part of an extended soundtrack in honor of the milestone. 

Clearly, Scott Pilgrim has remained relevant in our culture since its release. It’s so fun to watch stars like Larson along with Chris Evans, Kieran Culkin, Anna Kendrick and lots of big people before they became household names. They all reunited for a reading of the script back in 2020, and while they are all massive stars now, it’s clear they all still have a love for this cult classic. 

While Larson does post throwbacks to movies she’s been in, she also has a full plate of upcoming projects to get excited about. As Captain Marvel, she is set to star in one of Marvel’s upcoming movies, The Marvels, and she is in the process of filming Fast X, both of which are scheduled to come out next year. 

Just a few weeks ago, the Alicia Vikander-led Tomb Raider sequel was revealed to have been cancelled following much speculation about the franchise's future. It's still unclear as to what lies ahead for the property as another studio seeks to gain the rights. But some are already fancasting new actresses for the lead role, and Aubrey Plaza has emerged as a candidate. I can’t imagine a better Lara Croft and, apparently, neither can Edgar Wright. With that, Plaza shared some thoughts on possibly taking over the iconic role

While speaking to Newsweek, the star talked about how famed director Edgar Wright couldn’t get over the visual similarities between Lara Croft and her Emily the Criminal character. She revealed:

I can totally see it. Aubrey Plaza may just be the person to lead a new brand-new iteration of this franchise. The character has already been portrayed on the big screen twice, but maybe the third time’s the charm? Angelina Jolie portrayed Croft twice, once in 2001 and again in 2003. In 2018, Alicia Vikander took over the role for Warner Bros.' reboot.

Though the 2018 film was a moderate box office success, the studio still seemed to be set on making a follow-up. By early 2021, a Tomb Raider sequel was said to be in development, with Lovecraft County creator Misha Green attached to direct. There had been few updates on Alicia Vikander's sequel before it was ultimately scrapped. However, anything can still happen. Edgar Wright seems to have beeen the first to identify the similarities between Croft and the Parks and Recreation alum. Maybe she and Wright could get behind it once the franchise finds a new studio home.

Of course, there's still a question that needs to be asked: Would Aubrey Plaza even be open to playing Lara Croft in another Tomb Raider film? Well, based on her comments in the same interview, she seems willing to give it a go, especially since she's a fan of blockbuster films:

Someone has to make this happen. The visual similarities aside, Aubrey Plaza has more than proven at this point that she's a strong performer who can work within different genres. And quite frankly, it'd be great to see her get more action-centric roles. (Many even believe Plaza could be perfect for some Marvel characters.) On top of all that, she'd love to host the Oscars and become "this generation's Billy Crystal." She's truly a woman who can do it all.

We're just going to have to wait and see if the star does indeed land the lead role in another Tomb Raider reboot. Though after Edgar Wright's observation, it's going to be really hard not to picture anyone else in the role but the Happiest Season alum. Let's hope that she at least gets a shot at an audition at some point in the future.

We may have to wait a while before we get to see the next iteration of Lara Croft but, in the meantime, you can catch Aubrey Plaza in Emily the Criminal, which is playing in theaters now. For more news on recent theatrical releases and upcoming films, check out CinemaBlend's 2022 movie schedule.

In Sam Raimi’s Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, audiences met the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s version of Reed Richards (John Krasinski), leader of the Fantastic Four… well, a version of the Fantastic Four from a realm known now as Earth-838. And while that version of Mister Fantastic didn’t last very long against Wanda Maximoff (Elizabeth Olsen) – dying in one of the sequel’s most gruesome moments – Marvel clearly has plans for the family of superheroes. There’s a movie coming, despite some bumps on the road to production, and new rumors suggest that Kevin Feige is seeking a big name to helm the feature centered around the Fantastic Four.

This news comes from the Twitter account of Deadline senior film reporter Justin Kroll, who quotes a source saying that Marvel’s list of potential Fantastic Four directors remains long, and that this person would be “shocked” if the replacement for Spider-Man: No Way Home director Jon Watts was revealed before Labor Day. And the reason given for this lengthy deliberation is that Marvel President Kevin Feige, thrilled with the collaboration with Raimi, wants another big name in the director’s chair for Fantastic Four. As Kroll notes:

Kevin Feige will always have his input. But given the fact that Marvel Studios is juggling so many projects between planned sequels for Deadpool, the re-introduction of Blade, the multiple Disney+ programs, and whatever the future plan is for mutants, we can understand his unwillingness to commit to a younger filmmaker like Watts or Destin Daniel Cretton, and commit to proven directors such as Chloe Zhao, Raimi, or James Gunn. With that in mind, we’ve selected seven possible directors who’d fit that bill, and also be fantastic choices (pun intended) to lead the MCU’s FF into the future.

John Krasinski

This one’s easy. John Krasinski’s A Quiet Place movies established him as a tentpole director, particularly with the way the second installment raised the stakes and played with more budget. Krasinski just played Reed Richards in the Doctor Strange movie, and he and his wife Emily Blunt have been fan-favorite choices to play Reed and Sue for years. Hand this power couple the keys to the franchise, and let Krasinski make the sci-fi Amblin family picture he’s been chasing.   

Peyton Reed

This would be a fun callback for Marvel historians, as well as a reward to Peyton Reed for a “job well done” on the Ant-Man series. Before he stepped in and replaced Edgar Wright on the first Ant-Man, Reed had a pitch for a Fantastic Four movie that would have been set in the 1960s and blasted past the team’s origin story to begin with them as celebrity superheroes. He has a passion for the material, he’s a proven MCU guy… so is it time for his shot? 

Bryce Dallas Howard

The Jurassic World co-star is hearing her name attached to this franchise in two forms. Some would like her to be in contention for Sue Storm, the Invisible Woman, and after her time in the Jurassic franchise concludes, she could transition over. But others (myself included) want to see her direct Fantastic Four for Marvel Studios, especially after the outstanding work she has been delivering in the Star Wars realm. Maybe Star Wars is her passion? But she has proven her talents as a filmmaker, and I’d love to see what she could do with the FF.

Bert & Bertie

This choice flies in the face of the theory that Kevin Feige wants a director with a name, but I so enjoyed the action work that Bert & Bertie did on the Disney+ series Hawkeye that I’d love to see them transition to Marvel features. Watch the Hawkeye episodes “Echoes” and “Ronin” to see what they are capable of, as well as their work on the pirate adventure series Our Flag Means Death. They’d be an exciting hire. 

Edgar Wright

Again, this would be Marvel giving someone a second chance – similar to the way they brought James Gunn back into the fold after hastily firing him from the Guardians of the Galaxy franchise. Edgar Wright developed Ant-Man for Marvel, then left the project over creative differences. He’s only improved as a filmmaker and storyteller, and his most recent Last Night in Soho proves he can do 1960s kitsch if that’s still in the cards for Fantastic Four. Also, we’d probably get Nick Frost as Ben Grimm, and that sounds excellent. 

Justin Lin

Could the Fast & Furious’s loss be Marvel’s gain? Apparently after failing to see eye to eye with Vin Diesel, Justin Lin walked away from Fast X, and should drive right over to Marvel Studios to take on Fantastic Four. Lin delivered some of the best installments of the Fast franchise. He’s a skilled action director who also hit one out of the park when he helmed Star Trek Beyond for Paramount. A franchise filmmaker with loads of experience in action and science-fiction? That sounds exactly what Kevin Feige is looking for, so give Lin a call. 

Brad Bird

Some argue that Brad Bird already made the best Fantastic Four movie, but called it The Incredibles. The powers used by the Parr family in the two Pixar movies absolutely resemble those of the Fantastic Four, especially Elastagirl’s stretching and Violet’s force fields. So, would Bird want to retread old ground and do FF in live action? His filmography suggests a deep interest in sci-fi (Tomorrowland, The Iron Giant) and action (Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol). And his announced feature 1906 lingers in development, meaning he might have time to transition to Marvel and give the FF a shot. 

How about you? Who do you want to see bringing Marvel’s first family to the big screen? Contemplate the question, and plan your trip to the theater for the other upcoming Marvel movies, starting with Thor: Love and Thunder in multiplexes on July 8.

Blake Lively got her start in the early 2000s in popular titles like Gossip Girl and The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants, and over the years, she has impressed on the big screen under the direction of Ben Affleck, Oliver Stone and Paul Feig. The actress’ next project will mark her first time directing a movie, but luckily, she had a head start thanks to Taylor Swift. 

This past November, Lively got behind the camera for the first time to direct her famous friend Taylor Swift in the music video “I Bet You Think About Me.” The video that also starred Miles Teller amassed over 37 million views and scored some award nods. Now that the actress has gotten her feet wet with directing, she’ll be helming Seconds. The movie will be an adaptation of a graphic novel of the same name from the creator of the Scott Pilgrim books, Bryan Lee O’Malley. 

Per The Hollywood Reporter, Blake Lively will direct Seconds from a script by Edgar Wright, the writer/director of 2010’s Scott Pilgrim vs. the World. Wright, who also helmed movies like Hot Fuzz, Baby Driver and Last Night in Soho, will also produce Blake Lively’s directorial debut alongside Marc Platt (La La Land, Scott Pilgrim and Legally Blonde). 

Seconds is about a talented young chef named Katie who receives the power to fix her past mistakes by writing them down, ingesting a magical mushroom and then going to sleep. Katie becomes obsessed with her newfound powers and uses her dresser full of mushrooms to fix every mistake in her life she can think up. This has unintended consequences that begin to threaten not only her life, but the fabric of space and time. 

Seconds was picked up by Searchlight Pictures, which is a studio known for more prestigious films. This was most recently shown with Best Picture nominee Nightmare Alley, but other releases from the studio include Jojo Rabbit, Nomadland, The Grand Budapest Hotel and Black Swan. It’s impressive Blake Lively is already working with the acclaimed studio and the well-loved Edgar Wright on Seconds so early in her directing career. 

Lively is also set to be a producer for the first time for the crime drama The Husband’s Secret, which she will also star in. The movie is an adaptation of the Liane Moriarty book of the same name about a suburban housewife’s life being rocked by a peculiar letter from her husband she finds. 

Blake Lively is married to Ryan Reynolds and has three kids with him. Reynolds also made a switch from purely an actor to delving into writing and producing, most notably with the Deadpool movies. We’ll be excited to see how Lively paves her own path as a director with Seconds and hopefully more upcoming movies. 

Halloween is over? It doesn’t have to be if you don’t want it to be. Especially when you can always go downtown where everything’s waiting for you. Shaun of the Dead and Baby Driver director Edgar Wright has released his latest movie Last Night In Soho, and it’s a stylish horror movie starring The Queen’s Gambit award-winner Anya Taylor-Joy and Jojo Rabbit breakout star Thomasin Mckenzie. Following it’s recent release to theaters, let’s take a look at how movie fans reacted to the movie. 

Last Night In Soho centers on an aspiring fashion designer Eloise (Mckenzie), who moves from the English countryside to London to pursue her career dream.  When the college experience proves to be unexpectedly dreadful, she finds herself retreating to visceral dreams of the city in the ‘60s through a singer (Taylor-Joy) that mysteriously bleeds into the present day. Overall, critics have been raving about the movie, with CinemaBlend’s own Eric Eisenberg awarding the film 4 out of 5 stars in our Last Night In Soho review. 

When it comes to audience reactions, the praise is echoed. The movie received a B+ CinemaScore from polled moviegoers on its opening night, despite it debuting at No. 7 at the box office. Now to the social reactions of audiences. 

Anya Taylor-Joy As Sandie Is Instantly Iconic

Anya Taylor-Joy has proved to be a real star over the years between her roles in The Witch and Emma alongside her biggest hit in The Queen’s Gambit, which we all of course binged on Netflix last year. Last Night In Soho is no exception as fans take to Twitter to share fan videos of her character, Sandie in action. 

Anya Taylor-Joy is quickly becoming one of those few actors who you can count on to make great choices with the projects she picks. Every one of her choices have been different, but very much inspired. Audiences are crushing on not only Taylor-Joy, but the up-and-coming star of Last Night In Soho, Thomasin Mckenzie. 

Thomasin Mckenzie is a 21-year-old New Zealand actress, who was also in M. Night Shymalan’s Old over the summer. The movie features some incredible performances from both actresses, heavily noted in social posts. However, as one person noted there may not be enough Anya Taylor-Joy, despite her being such a large draw to the movie.  

Alongside the two leads, Last Night In Soho also stars Matt Smith and legendary actors Terence Stamp and the late Diana Rigg, the latter was also a major topic people took to social media to talk about. 

The Late Diana Rigg Had A Memorable Final Role 

Dame Diana Rigg was memorably a Bond girl in On Her Majesty’s Secret Service and star of the ‘60s series The Avengers before later making herself known to a whole new generation of fans by playing Olenna Tyrell in Game of Thrones. The actress died last September, making her role in Last Night In Soho her final role ever. Considering the movie itself is all about being a woman in show business in the ‘60s, it’s actually the perfect sendoff for the actress to go out on, as fans noted. 

Diana Rigg passed away at 82 years of age, but her body of work remains iconic. The actress plays the landlady of Thomasin Mckenzie’s Eloise. As someone else noted, she “went out with a bang” with her Last Night In Soho role. 

As another fan pointed out, Rigg is not the only ‘60s actor who shined brightly in Last Night In Soho. Terence Stamp and Rita Tushingham are also notable, here. 

It’s not often that a final performance comes as full circle as Diana Rigg’s in Last Night In Soho. Plus, the movie is now dedicated to the actress, featuring a “For Diana” note in the beginning of the film. 

Director Edgar Wright Knocks It Out

Of course, there was a big deal of praise for the film’s director and co-writer, Edgar Wright. The filmmaker famously has made beloved movies like The Cornetto Trilogy and Scott Pilgrim vs. the World. It’s been four years since his last movie, Baby Driver, so fans were ready for something new. Last Night in Soho is not your typical Wright movie. It’s his first to feature two female leads, really delve into the horror genre and be co-written by 1917’s Krysty Wilson-Cairns. 

Last Night In Soho is one of those movies with some incredible behind-the-scenes moments to talk about. For one, there’s a dance sequence during Eloise’s first dream that has Matt Smith’s character switching dance partners between Mckenzie and Taylor-Joy. Film fans are geeking out about how it was shot practically in one shot rather than them just being cut together. Take a look: 

Crazy right? Another element of the movie people are talking about is the fun use of colors and neon lights throughout the movie. Every shot of Last Night In Soho is beautiful enough to be hung in an art museum. Just look at it: 

Edgar Wright is most certainly a thoughtful director who really delivers on so many elements of a movie. Aside from the visuals, he’s well beloved for his storytelling, casting and of course his killer soundtracks. Audiences are often calling the movie an “experience,” such as with this tweet. 

Last Night In Soho is Edgar Wright’s eighth feature film and a lot of his fans really dig this one. Some people are even calling it their favorite he’s ever made yet. It’s high praise considering he already has such a positive reputation. 

Now that we’ve learned what fans are saying about Edgar Wright’s Last Night In Soho, you can check out CinemaBlend’s interviews with Wright and Thomasin McKenzie and  an extended deep-dive into the filmmaking with Wright and Krysty Wilson-Cairns on the ReelBlend podcast. 

SPOILER WARNING: There are some spoilers for Last Night in Soho present later in this rundown. We’ll prompt you when it’s time to turn back, so be warned and be alert!

It’s come out recently that writer/director Edgar Wright wants to pitch a James Bond movie to the folks at EON Productions. That alone isn’t a crazy notion, as any director, especially one who likes the adventures of 007, would be insane not to want their name in contention to helm one of the franchise's blockbusters. However, if you look at Wright’s career, you can see quite a few connections between the Last Night In Soho filmmaker and the world of Bond. 

In fact, his latest effort is probably the most rich when it comes to those connections, and this feature has been put together to discuss them all in chronological order. Fair warning, some of the twists and turns of Last Night in Soho will be discussed towards the end, so if you haven’t seen the film yet, just be warned that at a certain point you’ll have to choose either to keep going, or put a pin in the rest of this list. 

Timothy Dalton As Simon Skinner (Hot Fuzz)

Edgar Wright’s James Bond fanhood began started showing on screen fairly early. His second film, 2007’s Hot Fuzz, holds two connections to the 007 universe – both in cast and crew. The most obvious, and probably the best remembered, has to be Timothy Dalton’s appearance as price slasher/murderous mastermind for the greater good, Simon Skinner. It's great, but it’s also kind of a shame that Edgar Wright didn’t also use Timothy Dalton for the big Bond cameo in The World’s End, as it could have been a winking nod to one of the actor's unmade James Bond films (we'll get back to that bit in a minute).

Music To A James Bond Fans’ Ears

Of course, when you’ve got an adventure that requires an amazing blend of action and wit, it helps to have a composer like David Arnold on hand. Hot Fuzz doubled down on the Bond-ness of it all by enlisting Arnold to create the score for the action, the man having previously written 007’s music from Tomorrow Never Dies straight through to Quantum of Solace. Strangely enough, that last film happened to debut only a year after Edgar Wright delivered Hot Fuzz to the world. 

Rosamund Pike As Sam Chamberlain (The World's End)

While Rosamund Pike played the aptly named Miranda Frost in Die Another Day, her character in The World’s End is a decidedly warmer presence. Playing Sam Chamberlain, the object of affection for both Gary King (Simon Pegg) and Steven Prince (Paddy Considine), Pike helps fend off a robot invasion, and knows her way around a ring road in a time of apocalyptic crisis. Of course, considering the other James Bond cameo in The World’s End, Pike’s heroism is an even greater study in contrast...

Pierce Brosnan As Guy Shepherd

Count two James Bonds in the Edgar Wright universe of films, as Pierce Brosnan’s cameo in The World’s End is another example of a 007 making a heel turn in the Three Flavors Cornetto Trilogy. The film’s extraterrestrial adversary, known as “The Authority,” opts to use the guise of a kindly school teacher familiar with the gang as its pitch man to bring humanity into its collective. Through Brosnan’s Guy Shepherd, Wright’s underrated sci-fi dramedy gets some vital backstory and the opportunity for a hell of a bar brawl.

Last Night In Soho’s Gigantic Thunderball Poster

We’ve arrived at the main event, as Last Night in Soho’s James Bond connections can now come out to play. Our first is a rather large detail, as Edgar Wright includes a poster for Sean Connery’s 1965 classic Thunderball as the first telltale sign that Elouise (Thomasin McKenzie) isn’t in the 21st century anymore. Fun fact: Wright almost deleted this reference; but thanks to Quentin Tarantino and Jordan Peele’s feedback on the film’s first trailer, the reference stayed. 

Be warned: Last Night In Soho spoilers are coming up next, so you may want to click away if you haven't seen the film!

Sandie's Deadly Drink Of Choice 

While 007 is more commonly identified with his drink order of a martini “shaken, not stirred,” another cocktail that’s embedded in James Bond lore is “The Vesper.” Named after Vesper Lynd, the love of Bond’s life in Casino Royale, the drink turns out to be the potent concoction of choice for Anya Taylor-Joy's Sandie . Upon her first date with future boyfriend/pimp Jack (Matt Smith), she orders that very drink in Last Night in Soho, raising the eyebrows of many a Bond fan. Could this have been a sneaky hint at her true history in the film's story? 

More Music To A James Bond Fans’ Ears

Now this next Last Night in Soho connection is a bit of an easter egg, but it’s definitely worth mentioning. In a soundtrack that’s stacked with Dusty Springfield, Anya Taylor-Joy, and “the best title music for a film that’s [previously] never been made,” Edgar Wright snuck another James Bond connection into the rotation. Legendary 007 composer John Barry’s theme from the 1960 film Beat Girl is included in the amazing list of tunes one can enjoy, albeit briefly.

Terrence Stamp As Lindsay, The Silver Haired Gentleman

Ok James Bond fans, time for a small history lesson in what could have been. Back when Sean Connery left the series, producer Harry Saltzman considered Last Night in Soho’s Terence Stamp as a new 007. However, by Stamp’s own admission, he thinks he scared Saltzman off by proposing he go method, “Japanese makeup” and all, in what sounds like a pitch to adapt You Only Live Twice. Meanwhile, Edgar Wright cast the iconic Terence Stamp as Lindsay, the Silver Haired Gentleman, a.k.a. the ultimate red herring in Last Night In Soho’s central mystery.

Margaret Nolan As Sage Barmaid

Edgar Wright managed to cast not one, but two James Bond women in Last Night in Soho, and both of them play a key part in the mystery of Sandie’s life. The first is the late Margaret Nolan, who’s best known by Bond fans as the gilded Dink in Goldfinger, as well as the gold painted model for the film’s press campaign. Appearing in the montage showing Sandie’s downward spiral into alcohol and prostitution, Nolan’s “Sage Barmaid” is seen shaking her head in upset disapproval. Margaret Nolan is also remembered in the film’s final credits roll with a dedication.  

Dame Diana Rigg As Ms. Alexandra Collins

Quite possibly Edgar Wright’s best James Bond connection yet, Last Night in Soho sees the late Dame Diana Rigg playing the twisted older version of Ms. Alexandra “Sandie” Collins. Having her role in 007 history as Tracy Bond, the late wife of George Lazenby’s Bond in On Her Majesty’s Secret Service, Rigg would go on to make quite a name for herself throughout her career. As Last Night in Soho is Dame Diana’s final role, the film also bears a special dedication to her honor as well at the very end.

Bonus Bond: The Cornetto Trilogy's Bill Nighy

One final connection came to mind when running down Edgar Wright’s connections to James Bond, and it’s a bonus because of its literary origins. While Bill Nighy has never played Bond himself, the 2014 audiobook version of Ian Fleming’s Moonraker sees his voice lent to Bond, Hugo Drax, and everyone else that populated that particular tale. While they haven’t collaborated in the last few years, Wright saw to it that Bill Nighy played a part in each film in the Three Flavours Cornetto Trilogy. Though you’d best remember him as Shaun’s step dad Phillip in Shaun of the Dead, Nighy also appeared as the Met Chief Inspector in Hot Fuzz, and can be heard as the voice of The Authority in The World’s End. 

There is a strong argument to be made that Edgar Wright is, pun intended, the Wright fit for the James Bond franchise. With a unique vision that pushes the envelope and adheres to the artistic integrity of source material when applicable (like with Scott Pilgrim vs. The World), 007 fans really could have it all. Let’s hope that the filmmaker gets to pitch his idea to Barbara Broccoli and Michael G. Wilson when the time is right, as it sounds like that’s the only way the world will learn of what could happen. 

However, Edgar Wright fans can do one thing in particular when it comes to imagining what a James Bond movie would look like under his hand. With Last Night in Soho in theaters as we speak, you can see how Wright might tackle a retro-style version of the 007 canon. While this is a story about ghosts, betrayal, and one hell of a bar tab, the period accuracy on display is too good not to let your imagination run away.

Warning: spoilers for Last Night In Soho are in play. If you are lonely, and don’t want to be spoiled, you can always go...to our non-spoiler coverage on CinemaBlend.

Leave it to Edgar Wright to take audiences on a mind bending trip like the one seen in Last Night In Soho. With Thomasin McKenzie and Anya Taylor-Joy navigating the perils of London between 1965 and today, a horror mystery begins to unfold that is absolutely terrifying and heartbreaking. That last part is particularly of note, as Wright and co-writer Krysty Wilson-Cairns have woven a story that plays both sides of the aisle in spectacular fashion. Consider this your last call before spoilers, as we’re going to talk the Last Night In Soho ending, and why it’s a beauty to behold. 

What Happened At The End Of Last Night In Soho?

After being the subject of increasingly frantic visions from the past in Last Night In Soho, fashion student Eloise “Ellie” Turner (Thomasin McKenzie) is ready to leave London and head back to the countryside. Haunted by the ghost of a showgirl named Sandie (Anya Taylor-Joy), Ellie has led a double life that includes living her nights in 1960s Soho. The end result of which has left Ellie haunted by her supposed murder, and numerous faceless ghosts.

However, just as she’s about to leave the apartment she’s been renting out, her landlady, Ms. Alexandra Collins (Dame Diana Rigg), tries to kill her. Apparently, Ellie’s efforts to solve Sandie’s murder have drawn unwanted attention from the woman who's given her somewhere to stay. Ms. Collins even stabs Ellie's boyfriend, John (Michael Ajao), when he comes to rescue her in her time of need. 

With Last Night In Soho’s central mystery being solved, Ellie and Ms. Collins have one final, trippy fight. With her landlady perishing in the flames of the burning flat, Ellie moves on to continue her pursuit of her fashion designer dreams. And, she still sees the spirit of Sandie, encouraging her along the way. 

The Mystery Of Sandie, As Seen By Eloise

We see the mystery of Sandie’s life unfold through Last Night In Soho from a very subjective point of view. Following Eloise’s trips back in time to the mid '60s, we’re introduced to a young woman who's keen on becoming a singing star. Falling in with manager, and eventual pimp, Jack (Matt Smith), Sandie’s life becomes an endless blur of spending nights with men who are supposed to help her advance her career. 

As Eloise delves further into Sandie’s tragic history, we see these gentlemen callers become ghosts with obscured faces. Haunting Ellie, even in her waking moments, we eventually learn that Sandie was killed in the room that Ellie has been renting out, supposedly after a struggle between her and Jack. Seen by Eloise, the mystery of Sandie is a tragic tale where a young woman, and her dreams, die; with only one man ever showing her concern in the process. 

Eloise’s Ability In Last Night In Soho, Explained

The main reason Eloise is able to even solve the mystery of Last Night in Soho is because she’s a psychically sensitive individual. That’s a more scientific way of saying she senses spirits, as seen in the beginning of the film where Ellie talks with her deceased mother. It’s a gift, but with such talents comes a curse. As her grandmother, Margaret (Rita Tushingham), had warned her, this ability becomes overwhelmed when moving to London. 

Right from her first night renting with Ms. Collins, Eloise slips back into Last Night In Soho’s 1965 madness. For the weeks that she lives in the apartment, she’s equally inspired and paranoid about what she’s starting to see. It all leads to one gigantic misunderstanding about the crime she’s being pushed to solve, and a death that never had to happen.

Terence Stamp’s True Identity, Explained

Simply credited as “The Silver Haired Gentleman” (Terence Stamp), we see this mysterious character in Last Night In Soho throughout the film. A patron of The Toucan Bar where Eloise works, he’s reminded of a woman he once knew; presumably Sandie. We’re led to believe that this man is the older version of Jack, running free after killing Sandie so many years ago. However, Ellie learns she’s dead wrong about The Silver Haired Gentleman, when trying to get him to confess to Sandie’s murder. 

With his final message instructing Ellie to ask Alexandra about the truth, when she finds Alexandra in whatever hell she’s in, Last Night In Soho kills this gentleman before delivering the ultimate twist. The Silver Haired Gentleman isn’t Jack, but Linsday, a former vice cop on the beat in Soho, and the man who Sandie suspected was a copper when he showed concern. And, as it turns out, Sandie isn’t even dead to begin with.

What Really Happened To Sandie In Last Night In Soho?

What Eloise saw of Sandie’s life in Last Night In Soho was, more or less, accurate. Sandie, real name Ms. Alexandra Collins, really was an aspiring singer in 1965. Palling around with Jack, and allowing herself to be used, the young star falls deep into a life of drinking and prostitution; which eventually causes her to snap and kill Jack. 

The rug fully pulled out from under the audience, Last Night In Soho reveals to us that Sandie went on to become a bit of a serial killer. Murdering her clients in a fit of anger, Sandie was determined not to be used again. The most telling clue to this mystery’s resolution is the repeated invocation of Sandie telling Jack, “You’ll know where to find me.” All of this time, Ellie was living under the same roof as Sandie, adopting her true name once more. 

The 100 Deaths Of Alexandra Collins

Confronted with her acts, Ms. Collins/Sandie admits that in a way, she did die in her bedroom. Last Night In Soho saw Sandie giving different names to the various men she slept with and eventually killed; with Lindsay being the only person to get her real name. What’s even more interesting is, there’s a huge bed of clues that were hidden in plain sight.

While Ellie is researching the deaths that took place in Soho throughout the 1960s, she seemingly comes up empty handed while looking for Sandie. However, Last Night In Soho shows us tons of microfilm stories that pertain to numerous men who went missing in the area over time. Those stories of schoolteachers and other gentlemen going missing weren’t filler, they were a confession that the audience, and Ellie, were looking into the wrong murder. 

After unearthing Ms. Collins’ misdeeds, thanks to the help of the countless ghosts she sent to the great beyond, Ellie sympathizes with her would-be murderer. Swayed by her kindness, Ms. Collins tells Ellie to “let her go,” and escape with John. Sacrificing herself to the flames, rather than go to prison. Ms. Alexandra Collins dies one final, permanent death.

Playing most of its story like the horror mystery you’d expect it to be, Last Night In Soho delivers tragic and heartbreaking twists in its final act. It’s not for nothing though, as young Ellie Turner is allowed to break free from her obsession with the past, as well as putting the spirits of Sandie’s victims to rest, as well.

Should you be inspired to see Last Night In Soho again, or if you’re the type of person who likes to spoil movies with novelization style recaps, the film is currently in theaters for your enjoyment. With plenty of other 2021 movies available, or coming down the line, you can pretty much find anything else you’re looking for, if you’re ready to let go of Last Night In Soho. Just be careful, because stories like this Stephen King inspired tale have a way of haunting the audience long after the credits have rolled. 

Edgar Wright is a phenomenally exciting filmmaker. It’s not just that the movies he makes are of a high quality; he has a dedication to telling new kinds of stories every time out, and is always experimenting with daring and stylish techniques in his direction. Every project has its own surprises and special wow factor.

These are all things that Wright’s fans have known for many years now – but there has been even more reason to be excited for what he would do next in the wake of 2017’s Baby Driver: his first bona fide box office hit. What would he do with the freedom and resources awarded him by success? The answer is Last Night In Soho, which, while flawed, is a film that is filled with fantastic passion and spirit, and succeeds in being one of the writer/director’s most ambitious works to date.

Co-written by Edgar Wright and 1917’s Krysty Wilson-Cairns, Last Night In Soho begins as young Eloise Turner (Thomasin McKenzie) gets the potentially life-changing news that she has been accepted at a fashion school in London. She has big dreams about being a designer, and acceptance puts her on that path – though her grandmother (Rita Tushingham) has concerns about her living in the city given that she is a sensitive person and has a history with mental health issues.

Eloise’s own anticipation for the experience is hampered when she arrives on the campus and almost instantly finds herself wilting around her roommate, Jocasta (Synnøve Karlsen), who is very much of the “mean girl” brand. Her introverted personality clashing with Jocasta’s lifestyle, the protagonist opts to find a place off-campus to live, and she succeeds when she discovers a room to rent in a house in the titular district owned by a sweet-but-strict woman named Ms. Collins (Diana Rigg). She forbids smoking, boys, and night laundry, and demands two month’s rent and a two month deposit – but the innocent teenager is a model tenant.

It’s while staying in the room, however, that Eloise begins to have dreams so vivid that they appear real. At night, her mind travels back to Soho in the 1960s and she experiences the world through the eyes of a young woman named Sandie (Anya Taylor-Joy), who has aspirations to become a singing sensation. Already obsessed with the era thanks to influence from her deceased mother, Eloise is utterly enchanted by the literal woman of her dreams, and starts to take great inspiration from her in her waking life – but as the visions of Sandie take a darker turn, the fashion student finds her nightmares becoming reality.

Last Night In Soho delivers a great twisty, horrific mystery.

While Edgar Wright clearly has a demonstrated love for comedy, action, and science-fiction, as seen in his body of work, horror elements can be found in nearly all of his films, and his wonderful passion for the genre comes through spectacularly in Last Night In Soho. He blends details from across the spectrum – from Italian giallo to Stephen King – and pulls off excellent visual scares where your emotional reaction in large part comes from your appreciation of the characters.

It’s packed with surprises and is very mystery-driven in its plotting (don’t let anyone dare spoil the ending for you), and succeeds in feeding the audience just enough information to maintain curiosity without giving away the game. You should damper expectations for the finale a tad bit, as you’re best not left waiting for something earth-shattering and genre-changing (which Last Night In Soho doesn’t fully provide), but when it does pull the cord, movie-goers are still in for a treat.

Edgar Wright’s awesome direction in Last Night In Soho will repeatedly have you saying, “How did he do that?”

Only serving to enhance the story being told is the technical wizardry that is executed in bringing the film to life. The big showstopper is a sequence that sees Sandie enter and move through a nightclub in one long, sweeping shot, Eloise appearing as her reflection in mirrors and occasionally also swapping places with her. It’s so amazing that it admittedly takes you out of the movie for a moment, as you ponder the mechanics of how the effect is done, but this mental break is more than earned by what’s cinematically achieved.

It’s not work that is quite on the level of the music-synchronized genius of Baby Driver, as the scope of the ambition in the effort just isn’t the same – but it makes Last Night In Soho no less impressive to behold. And like all of Edgar Wright’s films, it seems all but guaranteed to grow more impressive to watch with subsequent viewings, as knowing the full path of the movie will unveil details not perceptible to those not looking for them and only further demonstrate the filmmakers special eye for specifics.

Thomasin McKenzie and Anya Taylor-Joy are both magnetic and brilliant in Last Night In Soho.

In addition to all of the other aspects of Last Night In Soho that differentiate it from Edgar Wright’s previous work, the film also marks the first time that he has worked without a male lead character, and that proves absolutely no obstacle – as the story is not only able to realistically and effectively utilize themes that come directing from the female perspective, but it features two remarkable turns from Thomasin McKenzie and Anya Taylor-Joy.

It’s stunning to watch the two actors perform in parallel playing perfectly contrasting personalities, and both dazzle with their independent evolutions. Playing Sandie, Anya Taylor-Joy once again demonstrates spectacular “born to be a star” screen presence, and it is really everything that the role needs, as Eloise is just as struck by her as we are. The protagonist is inspired by her visions to become bolder in her outlook and personality, and it’s not only awesome to see McKenzie play that arc, but things get even crazier as the narrative gets deeper and deeper into the horror of it all.

While it’s typically a bummer when Halloween lands on a Sunday, it’s advantageous for Last Night In Soho, as it’s a film to check out on opening night, and then immediately go and see again during the holiday – enhancing your appreciation of everything it has to offer. It’s another big when for Edgar Wright, who continues to prove himself as one of the most special talents currently making movies.

Edgar Wright’s latest film Last Night in Soho, in addition to being a moody throwback horror exercise, is also a technical marvel, with the filmmaker using multiple filmmaking tricks to pull off a dream-like reality where modern-day fashion student Ellie (Thomasin McKenzie) can travel back to 1960s London and begin to piece together an unsolved murder. It makes sense in the moment, trust me. Opposite McKenzie is her London counterpart, Anya Taylor-Joy, who plays an aspiring singer named Sandy who Ellie keeps seeing in this dream state. And in order to convey their connection, Wright relies heavily on mirrors that aren’t really mirrors. 

The first time that Edgar Wright employs this gimmick is a shot seen in the trailer for Last Night in Soho, where Thomasin McKenzie approaches a mirror in a jazz club, but sees Anya Taylor-Joy reflected back. To capture this unique visual, Wright hired identical twins… famous ones, at that. Oliver and James Phelps played Fred and George Weasley for years in Warner Bros.’ Harry Potter franchise. And once McKenzie and Taylor-Joy realized who they were, they went all fan-girl. Wright told the story to CinemaBlend’s official podcast, ReelBlend, explaining:

The fact that Edgar Wright hired identical twins to pull off this cinematic illusion blows my mind, but it’s charming to hear that the young stars of Last Night in Soho were more impressed by the presence of Harry Potter royalty when they spent time rehearsing and pulling off this complicated scene. And it’s understandable. For film lovers of a certain age, the Harry Potter franchise IS the root of all movie magic, and the ensemble’s bench is so deep with talent, you are bound to share a scene with SOMEONE who played in a Potter film -- especially if you film in London. 

You can listen to the full Edgar Wright interview on ReelBlend right here. 

And you can see the filmmaker’s latest effort, the haunting and riveting Last Night in Soho, now that it has made its way to select theaters around the globe. Try it in Dolby, if you have the means. The sound design on the film is particularly stunning.

Edgar Wright has dabbled in horror off and on over the course of his career, starting with Shaun of the Dead and weaving through elements of The World’s End and his contributions to the Grindhouse experiment. His latest effort, Last Night in Soho, embraces a supernatural ghost vibe that was prevalent in the 1960s and 70s (a period the director deeply appreciates), so when other horror experts chime in with their adoration of the film, Wright pays attention. Especially when one of those raves comes from novelist Stephen King, an author who has had a profound impact on Wright as a storyteller from his teenage years onward.

Stephen King Tweeted a rave for Last Night in Soho on the day that the director and his co-writer. Krysty Wilson-Cairns, joined the ReelBlend podcast to hash out the movie. Naturally, we asked him what King’s praise for the movie meant to him, and he explained that Last Night in Soho, and Baby Driver, probably wouldn’t exist -- or work as well as they do -- if not for King and his methods. Wright specifically explained to ReelBlend: 

Edgar Wright and Krysty Wilson-Cairns went on to confess that they weaved stage directions into the Last Night in Soho script that feel very much like they are written in Stephen King’s signature voice. Wright describes it almost like beat poetry, with a staccato delivery that King’s readers would certainly recognize. There’s a moment in the script where they describe the changing of the neon lights outside of Thomasin McKenzie’s London apartment: Blue, white, red. Blue, white, red. Red, red, red. 

Back to the Tweet praise. Wright was rightfully moved by it, but he took it one step further when he stated: 

You need to hear the full conversation with Edgar Wright and Krysty Wilson-Cairns, because they both get into the inherent sadness that exists in some of the best Stephen King stories, particularly The Shining, and how that impacted their approach to Last Night in Soho. The interview is part of our latest ReelBlend episode, which you can hear right now:

We will have plenty more from Last Night in Soho on CinemaBlend in the coming days and weeks. The movie is available exclusively in theaters as we speak, so go check it out.

Director Edgar Wright and Writer Krysty Wilson-Cairns joins the show to discuss designing the narrative of their new film Last Night In Soho. They dive into the process of shooting many of the film’s effects practically, choosing era-specific music for the soundtrack, Krysty’s unmade pitch for a Portal adaptation, Anya Taylor-Joy’s terrific talent and more. 

Stick around for our review of Last Night in Soho later in the show, alongside our reviews for Scott Cooper’s Antlers, and Netflix's Army of Thieves from producer Zack Snyder. We also discuss Dune getting a sequel, and Disney Pixar’s Lightyear trailer starring Chris Evans. 

Podcast Timestamps (Approx. Only)

• 00:07:01 - Weekly Poll
• 00:12:54 - Edgar Wright & Krysty Wilson-Cairns Interview
• 00:44:28 - Dune Part 2 Confirmed
• 00:54:08 - Pixar’s Lightyear Trailer
• 01:00:04 - Antlers Review
• 01:07:55 - Army of Thieves Review
• 01:12:40 - Last Night in Soho Review
• 01:24:27 - Our Favorite Final Girls
• 01:42:05 - Outro

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