Edgar Wright Directing Running Man Remake

Edgar Wright (Baby Driver, Scott Pilgrim vs the World) will reportedly be directing a new adaptation of The Running Man, according to Deadline. No casting announcements or production start dates have yet been announced.

The Running Man was originally a novel published in 1982 by Stephen King, under the pseudonym Richard Bachman. The book was previously loosely adapted in 1987 into a dystopian sci-fi action movie starring Arnold Schwarzenegger. This new version from Wright will not be a remake, but another crack at reimagining the novel. Wright will co-write the story with Michael Bacall (21 Jump Street), with the latter writing the script.

According to Deadline, the reason why in 2021 a 1982 novel is getting another movie adaptation is reporetedly because Wright was given carte blanche back in 2017 to "remake any film," and it's taken years for the deal to come together. That said, the original novels' themes of a world where the lanes merge between politics and pop culture has arguably never felt more timely.

Wright's most recent film is The Sparks Brothers, which in January had its world premiere at the 2021 Sundance Film Festival. The film is a documentary about the American pop-rock duo, Sparks. The director also recently made headlines with a teasing announcement leading up to the highly anticipated and rabidly requested re-release of the Scott Pilgrim video game in January.