Edgar Wright’s ‘Running Man’ Originally Had Faithful, “Brutal” Stephen King Ending

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Stephen King is famous for his many scary stories, like Carrie, The Shining, and IT. While many of his books have been made into movies and TV shows, these adaptations don’t always follow the original stories exactly. Sometimes, changes actually make the adaptation better, but other times, fans are let down by what’s left out.

While some might not consider it horror, Edgar Wright’s recent film, The Running Man, is a sci-fi take on the original story and a more accurate adaptation than the 1987 Arnold Schwarzenegger movie. A key difference was the ending, which Wright originally wrote to be quite sad. However, after Glen Powell was cast, the director felt Powell was too charming and sympathetic for such a tragic conclusion.

Please be aware that the following contains spoilers for the ending of The Running Man. The story, originally written by Stephen King under the name Richard Bachman, is set in the near future and revolves around a game show where contestants win prizes by avoiding hunters who are trying to kill them. In the book, the main character, Ben Richards, makes the ultimate sacrifice at the end to stop the network controlling the show, who had shockingly gone as far as murdering his family – his wife and daughter – to get the outcome they desired.

Speaking with Empire Magazine, Wright explained the narrative decision:

We initially wrote the story with Sheila and Cathy dying, but I realized it was too harsh once we started thinking about casting actors for those roles. I don’t think I could have gone through with it, even if it had stayed in the script.

Instead, Wright’s film concludes with Richards inspiring a widespread uprising among viewers, even though he tries to disappear and live a quiet life, even if it means being estranged from his family. While Wright aimed to stay true to the original story, he deliberately changed one key part: Richards doesn’t die in a dramatic act of self-sacrifice, like flying a plane into the television network’s headquarters.

We decided against using the book’s ending because it closely resembled a terrible real-life tragedy. We felt it would be deeply insensitive to remind people of 9/11, and we never even considered including it.

Edgar Wright’s film The Running Man was his most ambitious and expensive project to date, so it was particularly disappointing when it didn’t perform well in theaters. While Wright’s previous films – including Shaun of the Dead, Hot Fuzz, and Scott Pilgrim vs. the World – initially underperformed at the box office, they later gained a dedicated cult following. Since The Running Man was released just last November, it’s still too soon to know if it will share that same fate.

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2026-04-07 23:05