Arnold Schwarzenegger Endorses The Running Man Remake

Out of the most popular ‘80s gems, 1987’s The Running Man was always destined for some reimagining. Arnold Schwarzenegger’s sci-fi thriller based on the Stephen King story under his pen name Richard Bachman is widely remembered for the action legend’s one-liners, a dynamite villain turn for game show host Richard Dawson and the colorful array of killers on the former California governor’s tail. Though successful at the box office, critics were divided by the film’s tongue-in-cheek tone.

As Edgar Wright is currently in post-production on the upcoming remake starring Glenn Powell, Schwarzenegger explains to CBR how this new take on The Running Man will be a vast improvement over the original.

“‘Running Man’ was one of the movies that…I think it would have been great if we would have been better prepared for this movie if we would have had more money for this movie, and if we would have had then… the visual effects, the technology of visual effects, that they have today, all of those things I wished after the movie came out, I felt like it could have been better.”

The original Running Man had something of a troubled production history. The character of Ben Richards was originally cast with Christopher Reeve with a script closer to the original 1982 novel. Then Schwarzenegger’s casting changed the dark dystopian thriller into the action star’s standard escapist fare. Additionally, Andrew Davis (The Fugitive) was replaced in the director’s chair early on for falling behind schedule. Television director Paul Michael Glaser took the reins. The result was a rushed shoot that Schwarzenegger compared to filming an actual television show.

“It was great, but it could have been better, and I think that they have a good chance now with the new ‘Running Man’ to make it better. And I hope, for their sake and for my sake, I hope that they will be successful.”

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Wright pens the new Running Man screenplay with Michael Bacall in a faithful adaptation of the King novel. Powell stars as Ben Richards in an all-star cast featuring Katy O’Brian, Josh Brolin, Lee Pace, Michael Cera, William H. Macy, and Colman Domingo.

Does Schawarzenegger’s comments give you confidence about Edgar Wright’s remake of The Running Man? Let us know in the comments.

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