Josh Brolin already has a couple of intriguing projects on his upcoming calendar: Rian Johnson‘s next “Knives Out” mystery, “Wake Up Dead Man,” and Zach Cregger‘s “Barbarian” follow-up “Weapons.” Now it’s time to add another one to the list. THR reports that Brolin is in final talks to star opposite Glen Powell in Edgar Wright‘s upcoming Stephen King adaptation “The Running Man.”
Update: THR also reveals that Lee Pace (“Guardians Of The Galaxy,” “Halt And Catch Fire“) will play the main villain in the film.
For those unfamiliar with “The Running Man,” it’s one of King’s “Bachman Books” (Richard Bachman being an early pen name for the prolific author). Out of the four, the 1982 novel is the most popular, partly due to the 1987 film starring Arnold Schwarzenegger. But the original novel is much, much darker than Arnie’s ’80s action pic. In it, a desperate man in a 2025 dystopian America needs money for his sick daughter. To get it, he enters a popular TV program where teams of killers hunt down contestants: the longer one survives, the more money they make. But it’s a rigged game, and once in the thick of survival, the man will stop at nothing to get even with the show’s corrupt producers.
And Brolin will play the ruthless producer in Wright’s film opposite Powell’s hero. Also on board is “Love Lies Bleeding” actress Katy O’Brian, who plays another contestant on the program. Stay tuned for more casting news, but Powell, Brolin, and O’Brian are a great start for the ensemble.
As for Wright, he plans to stick to King’s grim original vision of a totalitarian America that uses media to placate its citizens (and to hide its greedy capitalist ethos that grinds up the disenfranchised with false promises of a better life). He co-writes the film’s script with Michael Bacall, with Simon Kingberg, Nina Park, and Wright producing through Paramount. The project will shoot in London next year, with the studio aiming for a theatrical release on November 21, 2025.
Are American audiences ready for a film as politically incendiary as King’s Bachman book? Honestly, it’s a surprise that Powell agreed to star in such a bombastic flick, but maybe Wright will tone down some of the novel’s nihilistic tone. Still, with Wright’s last feature being 2021’s “Last Night At Soho,” expect “The Running Man” to easily be one of 2025’s most anticipated movies.
