Trailerblazing -- The Running Man (2025)

The Running Man (2025) -- November 7, 2025 -- directed by Edgar Wright -- starring Glen Powell, Josh Brolin, Michael Cera, Colman Domingo, Katy O'Brian, Lee Pace 

                      

Like many others who are fond of the 1987 prescient original, I was on the fence about The Running Man remake. Knowing that it would be co-written and directed by Edgar Wright -- he of subversive cinematic humor and the Three Flavours Cornetto trilogy -- alleviated my concerns and the trailer definitively dispelled them. More aligned with the bleak Richard Bachman... *ahem* Stephen King novel that was the basis for the 1987 movie, the trailer shows a colorless dystopia in place of the colorful and deadly spectacle of Paul Michael Glaser's work. Also, instead of being forced to compete, Glen Powell's Ben Richards volunteers for The Running Man game show in order to save his sick daughter. On that note, the movie seems like an opportunity for Powell to flex some different acting muscles. Co-starring Josh Brolin, who seems delightfully maniacal as a new iteration of Dan Killian, as well as Michael Cera, Colman Domingo, Katy Brown and Lee Pace, this seems like one of those smart remakes that keep the most significant elements of the original story while injecting it with something fresh and new. In this case, one of those fresh elements are the action sequences -- what is happening with that staircase and those phones??? I also like the idea of expanding the action beyond an arena and having the Hunters everywhere. The new Running Man looks timely and thrilling, giving the impression that it will leave you breathless, pun intended.