1 of 5 | Glen Powell stars in “The Running Man,” opening Friday in theaters. Photo courtesy of Paramount Pictures
NEW YORK, Nov. 9 (UPI) — Twisters and Chad Powers actor Glen Powell says one of the hardest parts about working on The Running Man remake was waiting to hear if author Stephen King would agree to his casting in the dystopian thriller based on his book.
The movie, co-written and directed by Edgar Wright, is set for theatrical release Friday.
In it, Powell plays Ben Richards, a contestant hunted by trained assassins on a TV game show. If he survives, he gets a huge cash prize that will enable him to save his sick daughter.
“Edgar offered me this movie and I was like, ‘Yes!’ He’s like, ‘You’re my Ben Richards.’ And I’m like, ‘Let’s go!’ And then, later that night, he’s like, ‘By the way, you have to be approved by Stephen King.’ And I was like, ‘How does that happen?’ He’s like, ‘He’s going to watch Hit Man tonight,'” Powell recently recounted for the crowd at New York Comic Con.
“So, I had to wait overnight for Stephen King to watch Hit Man and hope that I still had the role in the morning. It was terrible,” he laughed. “He loved it, thank God.”
Powell isn’t the first Ben Richards to grace the silver screen.
Arnold Schwarzenegger originated the character in the 1987 screen adaptation.
“When I saw the Arnold Schwarzenegger version, I was very aware that it was very loosely based on the book and, so, I always felt that there was a whole part of the story that just hadn’t been adapted,” Wright explained.
“My favorite remakes are ones that kind of do something different from the other one. So, this is not an attempt to remake that film. This is something that’s more faithful to the book. So, that was what was exciting for me.”
Powell said he has a previous connection to Schwarzenegger since they both appeared in 2014’s The Expendables 3.
“I’m 16th on the call sheet. There’s no reason I needed to be in that movie. It’s all the most iconic action stars of all time and, somehow, I slipped in,” he quipped.
“What was really, really cool is for me to get to watch guys like Schwarzenegger and Sylvester Stallone, Harrison Ford, Wesley Snipes, Antonio Banderas — all these guys who have led their own franchises — and watch how they do it. It was pretty cool for me to kind of be looking up at some of my heroes and now getting to kind of occupy this space with an iconic title with an iconic director and an incredible cast.”
Powell said he is proud of how this new version of The Running Man turned out.
“This movie just delivers on every level,” he added. “The kind of characters I’ve always responded to are just ordinary people against extraordinary odds and that’s just really the DNA of The Running Man.”
Powell described Ben Richards as “the ultimate underdog.”
“He’s a normal guy, who is facing off against the most powerful, oppressive system there is. So, there’s no greater stakes and no smaller odds,” the actor noted.
“I try to be a nice guy in real life, but Wright’s like: ‘I need Bad Mood Glen. I need to turn on something a little different in you,'” Powell remembered. “So, Ben Richards in the book is very much frustrated with the system. He’s been pushed down. He’s trying to provide for his family and every sort of option has been taken away from him in order to do that.”
The actor said this film seems to be a natural choice for Wright whose body of work includes Shaun of the Dead, Hot Fuzz and Baby Driver.
“One thing that I think is just really so fun about this movie is the collision of fun and violence. It’s one of the reasons that Edgar Wright is absolutely the perfect guy to direct this movie,” Powell emphasized.
“When you’ve watched Edgar’s filmography, you look at the way he directs action sequences and there’s maybe no better action director out there,” Powell added. “Edgar gets to fully unleash that weapon on this movie.”
Josh Brolin, Lee Pace, William H. Macy and Colman Domingo co-star.
Star Glen Powell arrives on the red carpet at the premiere of Paramount’s “The Running Man” in New York City on November 9, 2025. Photo by John Angelillo/UPI | License Photo
