Stephen King’s The Running Man was first made into a popular action movie starring Arnold Schwarzenegger, but that film took many liberties with the original story. A major draw of director Edgar Wright’s upcoming version of The Running Man is its commitment to being more true to King’s novel, keeping the story realistic and maintaining its grim atmosphere. This approach, combined with Wright’s skill for creating visually exciting and impressive action sequences, suggests this new adaptation of The Running Man could be better than the Schwarzenegger film. However, while Wright is staying close to the book, he did make a few significant changes, including a new ending that King himself approved.
In a conversation with Film Stories, Wright remembered the day he sent the Running Man script to Stephen King and asked for his opinion. “Sending the screenplay to King as an attachment was probably the most stressful part of the whole production,” Wright explained. “Everyone knew from the start that [the novel’s ending] wouldn’t be adapted exactly as it was in the book… [King] even understood before reading it that we weren’t going to use the book’s ending. And when he replied, he told me, ‘I was really interested to see how you’d handle the ending, and I think you did a fantastic job.’ So I was very pleased with his response.”
Why The Running Man Couldn’t Adapt the Book’s Ending
Those familiar with The Running Man understand why director Wright couldn’t film the novel’s original ending. Without going into specifics, the book finishes with a disturbing scene: the main character, Ben Richards, deliberately crashes a plane into the Games Network building as an act of revenge, and dies in the resulting explosion. Including that scene in Wright’s movie would have unfortunately brought up painful memories of the September 11 attacks, making the change a wise decision. Sticking to the book’s ending would have been insensitive.
It’s worth noting that The Running Man isn’t the only Stephen King story receiving a fresh ending this year. The director Francis Lawrence and writer JT Mollner decided to change the conclusion of their film, The Long Walk, and it appears to have been a good move. The Long Walk received very positive feedback, establishing itself as one of the best King adaptations ever made. The altered ending sparked conversation – especially among dedicated King fans – but some viewers actually liked the film’s conclusion better, believing it provided a particularly moving and impactful finish. Hopefully, The Running Man can achieve the same success, creating a new ending that still captures the essence of the original story.
It’s clear that Wright is keeping the details of the new ending secret until The Running Man is released in theaters this November. It will be fascinating to see what he and co-writer Michael Bacall have created. After production on The Running Man finished earlier this year, Wright and lead actor Glen Powell celebrated by sharing a photo of a board signed by the cast and crew. The board also featured a drawing of Richards with the message “Richards lives!” Some fans speculated this could be a hint about the new ending, suggesting Richards survives his difficult experience and returns to his family. While it seems improbable the director would intentionally reveal such a significant plot point months before the premiere, Wright’s films generally have positive endings (even The World’s End, despite depicting an apocalyptic event, concludes with Gary King happily traveling with younger versions of his friends).
The Running Man novel ends on a very dark note, so director Wright likely altered the conclusion to add some hope and positivity, offering a glimmer of light. Ultimately, whatever Wright created was approved by Stephen King, and that’s the key thing. King is well-known for being vocal about adaptations he dislikes, so his support for Wright’s take on The Running Man is a good sign. This implies the new ending provides a fitting and satisfying resolution to the story, staying true to the overall plot.
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2025-10-02 21:17