Is a new film version of a novel a remake of a previous cinematic adaptation?
That’s the question director Edgar Wright wrestled with when approaching his latest film The Running Man. Based on the novel by Stephen King, and published under his 1970s/’80s nom de plume of Richard Bachman, the story had been previously adapted for the big screen in 1987 starring Arnold Schwarzenegger. But while some fans of the novel may have enjoyed that first cinematic version, it was a far cry from its source material. And that’s something Wright wanted to address.
“I always felt like there was a whole part of the story that hadn’t been adapted,” Wright stated earlier today at the New York ComicCon presentation for the film where he was joined on stage by the film’s two stars Glen Powell and Lee Pace. “My favorite remakes are the kinds that do something different from the other ones, so this is not an attempt to remake that but this is something that is more faithful to the book.”
Powell, who plays the film’s protagonist Ben Richards, concurs, and talked about how his portrayal hews close to the original novel. “Ben Richards in the book is… very frustrated with the system. He’s been pushed down. He’s trying to provide for his family, and every single option has been taken away from him in order to do that. So this is a man who’’s just trying to provide for his family in a place that doesn’t allow him to do that. So there’s a growing frustration and an anger there.
“Ben is the ultimate underdog,” Powell continued. “He’s a normal guy who is facing off against the most powerful, oppressive system there is, so there’s no greater stakes nor smaller odds. He’s been very pushed down. He’s trying to provide for his family, and every other option has been taken away from him to do that.”
Wright also acknowledged that reality has gotten closer to the fictional satirical setting that King created for the novel, saying “We’ve had nearly thirty years of reality shows that are closer to the book, and so it was an amazing thing to make this movie, picking things from reality shows from all over the world, with the formats and the designs. I think [our] game show set looks like UFC meets American Idol.”
“The book was written in 1982, and it’s set in 2025,” he continued. “And the jacket of the 1982 book said this – ‘In the year 2025, the best men don’t run for president, they run for their lives.’ It’s crazy. The fact that this film is coming out in 2025 is wild.”
But with the coinciding of the show’s fictional year setting and the year of this new version’s release, Wright didn’t want to tie down his iteration to a specific date. “We don’t say in the movie, what year it is. It’s not in the script, and we don’t say it, and we kind of just act like it’s a different tomorrow.”
“The other movie is obviously very much of the ’80s,” Powell added. “It stays within the confines of the studio. The coolest part about this one that I’m just really excited about is Edgar decided to take this thing — loyal to book — out into the real world. So it’s like the entire world is after this guy. Normal citizens can record, report you. They can take you out. So it’s like this ever-present feeling of tension around the entire movie. It’s relentless.”
The Running Man opens in theaters on November 14.
