Glen Powell received Arnold Schwarzenegger’s “blessing” for ‘The Running Man’ remake
With the upcoming release of The Running Man, directed by Edgar Wright, star Glen Powell revealed that he received the go-ahead from Arnold Schwarzenegger to reprise the character of Ben Richards from the 1987 version of the film.
At the launch of his new condiment line, Smash Kitchen, Powell shared to People that he spoke to Schwarzenegger over FaceTime and got his blessing. Powell has recently been filming the highly anticipated project, an adaptation of the classic Stephen King novel that Wright has described as an “intense, dangerous road movie”.
Powell also revealed that he contacted Schwarzenegger before they began filming, saying, “Arnold gave us his blessing”.
“Patrick Schwarzenegger is a great friend of mine and I asked Patrick if I could talk to Arnold and I hadn’t seen Arnold since we shot Expendables in Bulgaria,” said Powell. “Arnold gave us his full blessing and we get to give Arnold a very specific fun gift from the movie in a couple of weeks here,” Powell added. “So I’m very excited to see him.”
The original The Running Man film follows Schwarzenegger as a man taking part in a game show where convicted criminals are hunted down by professional killers, with the original being directed by Paul Michael Glaser.
Powell made an appearance at CinemaCon last week alongside fellow co-stars Colman Domingo and Josh Brolin to show footage from the film. In the trailer, Domingo can be seen telling Powell’s character, “This game is no game…life and death run wild. This is America, goddammit, and we don’t put up with no bullshit”.
Before sharing the teaser trailer, Powell told the audience at Cinemacon that the film was “the hardest thing I’ve done in my life”. Production began in London in September 2024 and is due for a theatrical release on November 7th.
Never Miss A Scene
The Far Out Film Newsletter
All the latest film news from the independent voice of culture.
Straight to your inbox.