After Running Man, Glen Powell Should Reboot Harrison Ford’s Best Action Movie—And It’s Not Air Force One
Fresh off Top Gun: Maverick, Glen Powell is gearing up to lead a sci‑fi remake of The Running Man—complete with Arnold Schwarzenegger’s blessing and Hollywood buzzing for more.
Glen Powell is having one of those runs where Hollywood keeps handing him bigger toys. Top Gun: Maverick put him on the map for the masses, The Running Man remake is teed up with Arnold Schwarzenegger giving a thumbs-up from the original throne, and now there is chatter that he might be the guy to bring back that very specific 90s grown-up action groove Harrison Ford rode in his Tom Clancy days.
Why Glen Powell makes sense for the Harrison Ford/Clancy lane
Harrison Ford had his mega-franchise era in the 70s and 80s with Star Wars and Indiana Jones, sure, but the early 90s were a different vibe: clear-eyed, grounded thrillers like Patriot Games and Clear and Present Danger, where Jack Ryan survives through brains, training, and a little stubbornness. If Hollywood wants that flavor again, Powell checks the boxes.
He has the military bearing and swagger thanks to his turn as LT. Jake 'Hangman' Seresin in Top Gun: Maverick, which maps neatly onto Tom Clancy stories that live in that military/espionage overlap. He also did the tech-and-fists thing as Thorn in The Expendables 3 — a sardonic hacker who can still throw down — which fits the Clancy balance between stealth, intel work, and bursts of heavy action. Add in the range he showed in Hit Man and the crowd-pleasing charm of Twisters, and you have someone who can do competent and cocky without turning into a cartoon. In other words: if studios want to revive that era, he is an easy first call.
The Running Man update (and the Arnold blessing)
Powell is headlining a new take on The Running Man with director Edgar Wright. For the record, that is the Stephen King-as-Richard-Bachman story first turned into a 1987 action movie with Schwarzenegger. Arnold, for his part, has publicly been supportive of the new version, which is the kind of goodwill you want when you are stepping into a cult-favorite concept.
What is locked in right now:
- Movie: The Running Man
- Director: Edgar Wright
- Cast: Glen Powell, William H. Macy, Lee Pace, Emilia Jones, Michael Cera
- Release date: November 14, 2025
So what is Powell up to next?
Top Gun 3 is real enough to be 'in development' and not just wishful thinking. No plot rundown or official cast grid yet, but the gears are turning.
He is also gearing up for Ghostwriter, a fantasy film from J.J. Abrams that, according to trade reporting, will co-star Jenna Ortega and Samuel L. Jackson. That is a combo that screams 'big swing' even without a logline.
On the small screen, Powell is fronting the Hulu sports/comedy series Chad Powers. It is a six-episode run, and as of now the fourth episode is the latest to drop. Different muscle than the action stuff, but it keeps him in the weekly conversation.
The bottom line
Powell has the polish, the physicality, and the slightly sharp edges you need to make a modern version of those 90s Ford/Clancy thrillers work. He can play the soldier, the analyst, the guy who talks his way out of trouble and, if that fails, wins the fight. With The Running Man on deck and a JJ Abrams project brewing, he is already orbiting that space. If someone hands him a briefcase and a moral dilemma next, do not be surprised.