Glen Powell Reveals What Tom Cruise Told Him About ‘The Running Man’

Stephen King’s dystopian novel The Running Man is getting a modern update with British director Edgar Wright promoting a new adaptation that had its UK premiere in London this Wednesday (November 5).

Wright is joined by star Glen Powell along with cast members Colman Domingo, Lee Pace and Emilia Jones.

Set in an increasingly consumerist future, “The Running Man” stars Powell as factory worker Ben Richards who competes in the eponymous game, a deadly competition that requires him to survive for 29 days or be brutally hunted down for live television.

While King’s novel was first adapted in 1987 starring Arnold Schwarzenegger, Wright’s film is closer to the source material.

As the director told Reuters: “I read the book when I was 14. When I saw the movie later, even though I enjoyed it, I thought it was completely different from the book. And I thought there’s a whole other movie in this material.”

For leading man Glenn Powell, the role of Ben Richards was physically exhausting with the actor even turning to his ‘Top Gun: Maverick’ co-star Tom Cruise for advice.

Powell added: “As an adult, I don’t know when you last ran for your life. But if you do it all night, it’s a lot more tiring than you think. So if there’s anyone who has more energy than anyone, it’s Tom Cruise, and he has a lot of experience running on camera. So with his advice, he was very generous.”

The film’s ensemble also features actors such as Josh Brolin, Michael Cera and William H. Macy who were not present at the screening.

The premiere also marked a reunion for Edgar Wright with comedians and actors Nick Frost and Simon Pegg who have starred in Wright’s previous films Shaun of the Dead, Hot Fuzz and The World’s End.

‘The Running Man’ is released in the UK on November 12 and opens in US cinemas and worldwide on November 14.