When The Running Man hits theaters next week, it will certainly be something of a throwback moment for a generation that grew up with the Arnold Schwarzenegger film from 1987. The two movies will certainly be different in a lot of ways. The new film is a much more faithful adaptation. One thing the new flick won’t be doing differently is adding a lot of CGI digital effects, as lead actor Glen Powell says the stunts were all done in camera, a fact which seemingly took a toll on his body.
Glen Powell’s big break came alongside Tom Cruise in Top Gun: Maverick, and it seems that Hollywood’s newest star learned a few things from Cruise, including the importance of doing his own stunt work. Speaking with SFX Magazine on CinemaBlend, Powell said he had a lot of fun making The Running Man, especially the action sequences, as all of it was done practically, and he did most or all of it himself. Powell explained…
It’s been a real blast because the stuff we’re doing on this movie isn’t random wirework and relying on visual effects. It’s all in-camera. It’s all happening around you. The explosions are real, people are flying past you.
The OG Running Man movie's star, Arnold Schwarzenegger, is a man who is quite literally larger than life. For this new remake, director/co-writer Edgar Wright says one of his major goals was to make Ben Richards a more relatable everyman. Part of that was keeping the action more grounded than the stylized action of a John Wick movie.
Stephen King’s The Running Man sees the main character put his life at risk on a TV game show to earn money his family desperately needs. This puts him at odds with literally the entire country, as some people are hunting him down to kill him and, every day, people can earn their own money by informing on him.
While Glen Powell makes it sound like he had a “real blast” making his latest movie, that isn’t to say that the experience wasn’t without its labors. Much like Tom Cruise, Powell says everything Ben Richards goes through in the film represents something that he went through while performing the stunts. Powell continued…
I’ve really put my body on the line. What Ben Richards goes through from the beginning to the end… I’m just getting my shit rocked the whole movie.
While CGI is an art form in itself and isn’t inherently bad, there’s still something to be said for practical stunts. Glen Powell may have gotten banged around making the film, but it was all in service of making a fun movie experience for the rest of us. It makes me even more excited to check out The Running Man when it opens in theaters on November 14 as part of the 2025 movie schedule.
