The Running Man: Edgar Wright signed on to direct re-adaptation!

Last Updated on August 5, 2021

So this is unexpected! Deadline reports that filmmaker Edgar Wright has been tapped by Paramount to direct a re-adaptation of author Stephen King's sci-fi dystopia novella The Running Man (which he wrote under the pseudonym Richard Bachman)!

Now, the novel had already been previously adapted as a star vehicle for Arnold Schwarzenegger in 1987, though Wright is said to be co-writing the script with Michael Bacall, which will hew much closer to King's story (which Schwarzenegger's veered pretty heavily away from).

Here's the official synopsis if the book:

The novel is set in a dystopian United States during the year 2025, in which the nation's economy is in ruins and world violence is rising. The story follows protagonist Ben Richards as he participates in the game show The Running Man in which contestants, allowed to go anywhere in the world, are chased by "Hunters" employed to kill them. The book has a total of 101 chapters, laid out in a "countdown" format. The first is titled "Minus 100 and Counting …" with the numbers decreasing, ending with the last chapter called "Minus 000 and Counting" (or, in some versions, simply "000").

Obviously, no official start or release date as of yet, but we'll keep you posted!

So what do you guys think? Fans of the original Running Man film? If so, still looking forward to Wright's version? Either way, sound off below!