While adoring fans of British auteur Edgar Wright eagerly await the release of his upcoming thriller, Last Night in Soho, news of Wrights’ next project has been revealed to be a remake of the Stephen King novel, The Running Man. As reported by Deadline, Wright will direct this new version from a script co-written with Michael Becall.
Becall, who has credits as a writer on the successful updates on the 21 Jump Street brand, has previously worked with Wright co-writing the popular hit, Scott Pilgrim Vs. the World.
The first outing in translating the story– penned under King’s pseudonym, Richard Bachman– was the cult favorite from 1987 starring Arnold Schwarzenegger and Richard Dawson. That adaptation of the dystopian action thriller– while fondly remembered by many– was a very loose vision of the original tale.
Wright’s new version is said to stick closer to the source material, which follows the story of Ben Richards, a man who agrees to participate in a barbaric game show in hopes of raising money to save his ill daughter.
The show, The Running Man, in the original story plays a little more like, The Most Dangerous Game. Richard’s is free to go anywhere he wants in the world, but at his heels are groups of highly skilled bounty hunters, just itching to take the protagonist down. The longer he survives, the more money he makes. The novel plays out like an episode of 24, with each chapter counting down to the very end of the journey.
News of Wright helming the film comes shortly after the warm reception on the Sundance premiere of his debut documentary, The Sparks Brothers; about the 50 year (and still going) career of the eccentric pop duo, Sparks. This still leaves news about other Wright projects that are still in limbo, unanswered. After his exit from helming the first Ant-Man film, news came out that Wright was working on a big screen adaptation of the cult Darren McGavin sci-fi TV show; Kolchak: The Night Stalker. At the time, rumours were that the film would be led by Johnny Depp. While recent events surrounding Depp may keep him from the role, a revival of the not-so-well-known proto X-Files show, would be fantastic.
With a full plate of projects both on the way and ready to be made, the Hot Fuzz and Baby Driver director took time to curate an edition of Empire Magazine dedicated to the most memorable moments in film history. Wright spoke with some of the most powerful and talented names in recent history to gather their thoughts on what makes the movie viewing experience such a unique and cherished part of our lives. The issue is out on newsstands now, and is a great read to keep one’s mind occupied while we wait for Last Night in Soho and The Running Man to be released.