The Running Man Star Teases the One Big Guardians of the Galaxy Connection
Lee Pace says The Running Man shares a striking thread with Guardians of the Galaxy, teasing one big echo of his Marvel-era relationship and character arc.
Lee Pace is out here connecting his next movie to his Marvel past, and the comparison actually makes sense. He says his role in The Running Man has a familiar dynamic to Guardians of the Galaxy, and yes, it involves Josh Brolin again. Also: there is a weird little on-set detail that made me laugh.
'Twice in a row I'm running nasty errands for Josh Brolin.'
Talking to ScreenRant, Pace explained that in The Running Man he plays Evan McCone, the icy head of a kill squad hunting down contestants in a televised death match. Josh Brolin is Dan Killian, the show's manipulative producer pulling the strings behind the scenes. Pace likened it to his Guardians setup: back then he was Ronan doing Thanos' dirty work; here, Evan operates under Killian's thumb. Different universe, same chain of command.
The truly funny part: despite their characters orbiting each other, Pace says he and Brolin didn't actually share the set. They shot at different times and only bump into each other at premieres. Movie magic still works even when the actors are working from different schedules.
- Lee Pace plays Evan McCone: ruthless leader of assassins hired to track and kill contestants
- Josh Brolin plays Dan Killian: the show's slick, predatory producer who engineers the hunt
- Glen Powell plays Ben Richards: a desperate everyman who signs up for a televised survival gauntlet to make money for his family, and has to stay alive for 30 days while killers like Evan hunt him for ratings
If you're keeping score, this new movie is a remake of the 1987 Arnold Schwarzenegger film and a fresh take on Stephen King's 1982 novel. It leans right into the stuff that made both versions pop: media bloodlust, how far people will go to survive, and a society that shrugs at moral rot as long as it makes great TV. Pace also shouted out Brolin's take on Killian as oily and hard to read — the kind of character where you probably shouldn't believe a word coming out of his mouth. That control-and-manipulation vibe is exactly what Pace was pointing to with the Guardians comparison.
The Running Man hits theaters on November 14, 2025.