The new adaptation of Stephen King’s The Running Man from director Edgar Wright is finally hitting theaters. Co-written by Wright and Michael Bacall, the movie stars Glen Powell as Ben Richards, a man being hunted for money on the show “The Running Man.”
While Wright and Bacall’s adaptation is a significantly more faithful adaptation to King’s book than the 1987 film starring Arnold Schwarzenegger, it still has some slight changes that modernize Ben’s story and time on “The Running Man.” But the biggest change might be how the ending of both King’s book and the movie differ from one another.
**Spoilers for Edgar Wright’s The Running Man lie ahead**
In the book The Running Man, King brings us a more dark and twisted end to Ben Richards’ story. The novel allows Richards’ anger to lead to a fitting end for him, Evan McCone, and Dan Killian. But in the Wright adaptation, it is a bit more uplifting in its own way.
Ben ends up becoming the face of the revolution. “Richards Lives” is a war cry for the people of this dystopian society and when he meets the Apostle/Bradley (Daniel Ezra), he learns just how rigged the game actually is. And it leads to the final act of the film which is a perfect blend of what King did with his novel and a new take on The Running Man from Bacall and Wright.
Ben Richards, the face of the revolution
When Ben is on the plane at the end of the film, he is told by Killian (Josh Brolin) that his wife, Sheila (Jayme Lawson), and their daughter, Cathy, are dead. McCone (Lee Pace) tries to make him see reason, in his own way, and puts the idea into his head that Killian is lying to him about what happened in order to get Ben to do what he wants: Kill the Hunters, join the Network as the new face of the Hunters on “The Running Man.”
But as we learn by the end of the movie, Ben has a backbone. He refuses, is willing to let Killian frame him as an angry man who refused the out, and we think that the Network blows up the plane before Ben can escape or kill Killian and Bobby T. (Colman Domingo). In the novel, Ben does succeed in crashing the plane into the Network building and his wife and daughter are really dead.
In Wright’s The Running Man, there is a bit more to unpack and think about because the “Richards Lives” of it all gives the people of this society (and the audience) a bit more hope for a future where we can all fight back.
RICHARDS LIVES
The ending of the film has the Apostle yet again breaking down the lies of the Network. This time, he has Ben Richards to back him up. We see that Killian did in fact lie about Ben’s family and the theory is that Ben lived by using the plane’s escape pod before it was blown up.
And while the movie could have ended with the “idea” of Ben Richards living, it is pretty clear that he did in fact live. Mainly because we do see Glen Powell’s face. But the concept of Ben living for those who don’t see him live and in the flesh in this world still remains.
So the ending of The Running Man is different from the book but the idea of it is simple: Ben Richards’ time on The Running Man inspired the world to fight back and even though he did survive, the idea of “Richards Lives” was the spark in their revolution against the Network.
(featured image: Paramount Pictures)
Have a tip we should know? [email protected]
