Edgar Wright was cast to direct “The Running Man” for Paramount Pictures, an adaptation of Stephen King’s dystopian horror novel.
“The Running Man”, published in 1982, was originally written under the pseudonym of King, Richard Bachman. The story takes place in the United States in the year 2025, which sees the economy in ruins and violence increasing dramatically. The book was loosely adapted for a 1987 film directed by Paul Michael Glaser and presented by Arnold Schwarzenegger. The next version should remain more faithful to the source material. The cast has not yet been defined.
Michael Bacall wrote the screenplay for a story he co-wrote with Wright. Simon Kinberg (“X-Men,” “Dark Phoenix”) and Audrey Chon will produce the film for Genre Films, as will Nira Park for Wright’s Complete Fiction company.
King’s novels, in genres ranging from horror and science fiction to crime and fantasy, have been rich material for films and television shows. Among the most successful are “Carrie”, “The Shining”, “It” and the sequel “It: Chapter Two”. Paramount recently adapted “Pet Semetary”, based on King’s 1983 book.
Wright, whose curriculum includes “Shaun of the Dead”, “Hot Fuzz” and “Baby Driver”, recently debuted his musical documentary “The Sparks Brothers” at the virtual Sundance Film Festival. In his criticism for Variety, Jessica Kiang praised the documentary and called it a “fabulous tribute” to the Sparks, “the band that has been the next big thing for 50 years (very strange).”
Wright’s most recent film, the psychological thriller “Last Night in Soho”, stars Anya-Taylor Joy, Thomasin McKenzie and Matt Smith. It is scheduled to debut later this year.
Wright, Bacall and Park are represented by CAA.
Deadline Hollywood first reported the news.