One Of Arnold Schwarzenegger’s Craziest Action Movies Is Getting Remade

Arnold Schwarzenegger starred in a lot of crazy and cool films. But one of his craziest is set to get a remake soon with a great talent at the helm

By Doug Norrie | Published

This article is more than 2 years old

Arnold Schwarzenegger

Arnold Schwarzenegger has been a part of so many iconic action movies over the decades that it’s almost hard to keep track of all of them. But for all the great moments and ridiculous premises, few have ever been remade. It makes sense considering the gravitas the big dude brought to the screen is just tough to match. But it looks like one of his more famous and entertaining films is going to get updated for a new generation of viewers. Get ready game show fans, The Running Man, is getting a remake. 

According to Deadline, The Running Man will be updated with Edgar Wright at the helm. It’s unclear if Arnold Schwarzenegger will have any involvement at all though it’s a near certainty he won’t be reprising the role in any way considering this type of flick is a young man’s game. Wright was pretty clear about one thing though, saying the film will more closely match Stephen King’s original work than it will the 1987 film. And that’s great news in how the plot could play out. 

The original The Running Man, starring Arnold Schwarzenegger differed significantly from the Stephen King novel of the same name. Both take place in a dystopian future where the economy has collapsed and a violent life-or-death game show is the main attraction. In the movie, Schwarzenegger’s character Ben Richards is ex-military and was wrongly convicted for a crime he didn’t commit. He joins the game show unwillingly and is put through a maze-like battleground in which gladiators are trying to kill him before he can escape. 

Arnold Schwarzenegger

In the book, Richards joins the game willingly to help raise money for his sick daughter. The game takes place throughout the United States while he’s being hunted though different cities. The latter has a much bigger scope. Though it makes sense why they chose a more narrow path for  Arnold Schwarzenegger in the original, it’s exciting to think this remake will follow the King sotry a little more closely. It will make for a bigger film. 

Though this will differ from the Arnold Schwarzenegger version, there’s reason to suspect this remake hits on all cylinders considering Edgar Wright is in charge. His last film Baby Driver was a sleek and cool heist film played out on a soundtrack and through the eyes of the titular character. His other films like The World’s End, Hot Fuzz, and Shaun of the Dead have been much more in the parody/ comedic vein. But all have been great.

Look, you can’t really ever replace Arnold Schwarzenegger, he is the ultimate action hero after all. You can simply hope to do the original concept justice, or pivot enough from the first movie’s story to make everyone just latch on to a totally new thing. Either way, this should be an awesome film built on a really cool concept. 

Arnold Schwarzenegger

Next up for Arnold Schwarzenegger will be a couple of actual returns to previous characters. He’s set to add another film to the Conan the Barbarian franchise and will also team back up with Danny DeVito for Triplets, a sequel to Twins. The dude really doesn’t have any issue going back to the older stuff at all.