From The Goonies to Coen brothers movies to the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Josh Brolin has left footprints in just about every area of pop culture, but here’s an interesting piece of trivia for you: he’s never been in a Stephen King adaptation before. That’s a bit odd given the breadth of his work… but that is a wrong that is soon to be righted, as the actor has landed a key role in one of the most anticipated upcoming King projects: he’s set to play the villain in Edgar Wright’s developing remake of The Running Man.
This news comes to us via Deadline, which clarifies that Josh Brolin will be playing the powerful network executive who oversees the operation of the film’s titular reality show (the character’s name in the book is Dan Killian, but the trade report doesn’t specifically say that will be his name in the film). It’s excellent casting, as Brolin is a performer that has the capacity to give the antagonist a powerful, sinister presence as well as flashy, toothy smile.
The Running Man is based on the book of the same name that was first published in 1982 with Stephen King’s pseudonym Richard Bachman. Unlike the 1987 adaptation starring Arnold Schwarzenegger, the new movie will be much more faithful to the dark source material. Glenn Powell is set to star as Ben Richards, a man out of options and desperate for money so that he can support his wife and sick child. Making the ultimate sacrifice, he decides to volunteer for one of the dangerous reality programs orchestrated by the government-sponsored TV network, and he is selected to star on the channel’s most popular show.
As a contestant on The Running Man, Ben essentially becomes the world’s most wanted man, and in addition to the protagonist having trained hunters tracking him down, the show’s viewers are compensated for providing tips that lead to his capture and execution. The longer he survives, the more money his family gets after his death.
In addition to Josh Brolin and Glenn Powell, the movie is also set to star Katy O’Brian, Daniel Ezra and Karl Glusman. Edgar Wright and Michael Bacall (who previously collaborated on Scott Pilgrim vs. The World) are co-writing the adaptation of the Stephen King book.
Brolin has been quite busy in 2024 – a year that has seen him return as Royal Abbott in the second season of Prime Video’s Outer Range and star in Dune: Part 2 and the new comedy Brothers with Peter Dinklage. In addition to being in The Running Man, his upcoming projects include Rian Johnson‘s new Benoit Blanc mystery Wake Up Dead Man and Zach Cregger’s follow-up to 2022’s breakout horror hit Barbarian (titled Weapons).
Production on the new movie is set to begin before the end of the year, and Paramount Pictures has already announced that the film will be getting a theatrical release on November 21, 2025 (one of at least three Stephen King features set to come out in the calendar year – the others being Osgood Perkins’ The Monkey and Mike Flanagan’s The Life Of Chuck). Be on the lookout for more updates about The Running Man in the coming weeks/months here on CinemaBlend, and you can enjoy my weekly roundup of all things King-related with my Thursday column The King Beat.
