Original Running Man Writer Hints Edgar Wright’s Version May Not Stick the Landing — See You in 2045
Original Running Man writer Steven E. de Souza says the backlash to Edgar Wright’s remake feels like deja vu — and quips that maybe a third version in 2045 will finally stick the landing.
Edgar Wright finally got his crack at The Running Man, and the chatter was solid going in. But the box office? Not exactly sprinting.
Where things stand right now
- Worldwide gross: about $28 million so far.
- Current rank: second place, trailing Now You See Me: Now You Don’t.
- The source: Stephen King’s novel (written as Richard Bachman).
- Who is who: Glen Powell plays Ben Richards; Josh Brolin is producer Dan Killian; Wright directs.
- Interesting perspective: Steven E. de Souza, who wrote the 1987 Arnold Schwarzenegger movie, is weighing in on the new ending.
The ending problem, part two
De Souza told THR he went through the new script and felt the ending worked on the page. That tracks with a lot of reactions: even the positive reviews tend to say the movie stumbles at the finish line. His read is that this is a familiar problem for The Running Man adaptations: writing it is one thing, getting it to play on screen is another.
It seems to me that this time around, something went wrong between the page and the stage again.
He also points out why this keeps happening. King’s original ending is bleak, so both the 1987 film and Wright’s version change it in similar ways. The difference? The 80s movie had less cash to throw at the finale, so it ended up simpler. He even cracked that maybe we need a third try way down the line to finally nail it.
Maybe the third version in 2045 will stick the landing.
For the record, de Souza says he was cheering for Wright’s take to hit big, partly because success now would nudge people to go back and rent the old one and compare. He sees that as a win-win.
What Wright’s movie actually is
Set in a near-future, The Running Man is the biggest thing on TV: a kill-or-be-killed game where contestants, called Runners, have to survive 30 days while pro assassins hunt them down on live television. The longer you last, the bigger the daily payout. Ben Richards (Glen Powell), a working-class guy trying to save his sick daughter, gets talked into entering by the show’s slick, ruthless producer Dan Killian (Josh Brolin). Once Ben starts pushing back and relying on his instincts, the audience gets behind him, which makes him dangerous to the system feeding on the spectacle. Ratings climb, the stakes climb, and Ben has to outsmart the Hunters and a country hooked on watching him fail.
How the new one is playing
The general vibe is that Wright delivers craft and spectacle, but the ending is where the bruises show up. Critic Chris Bumbray was into the filmmaking but not the final stretch, calling the back end rushed and undercooked.
Where many may find The Running Man comes up short is in the final act, which feels truncated as it rushes toward the ending. The finale itself feels anticlimactic - sped through, as if added in post-production.
So yeah, different decade, same headache: great setup, tricky landing. If you saw it, I’m curious where you landed on the finale and how it stacks up against the 1987 version or King’s darker original.