Colman Domingo will be infamous game show host in Edgar Wright's Running Man

Oscar nominee Colman Domingo has joined the cast of Edgar Wright’s Running Man. He’ll star alongside Glen Powell, Josh Brolin, Karl Glusman, Katy O’Brian, and Daniel Ezra in the upcoming film, which is slated for release November 7. The film is based on Stephen King’s novel of the same name (written under the pseudonym Richard Bachman), which was originally adapted in 1987 and starred Arnold Schwarzenegger. 

Powell will play the lead role of Ben Richards, a man who finds himself the star of a violent game show in which contestants either win or die. (Modern audiences will be familiar with the concept from such properties as Hunger Games and Squid Game.) Domingo has been cast as the game show’s host, who played a prominent role in the 1987 adaptation. Insiders told Deadline that “in Wright’s version, the TV exec played by Brolin will be more of the central villain, but given how important the host role was in the original, Wright and execs were aiming high with who they wanted in the part, ultimately landing on Domingo.”

The Schwarzenegger film was a loose adaptation of the source material. Set in the distant future of 2017, Ben Richards was a soldier sent to a work camp after refusing to commit war crimes and is plucked from his punishment to serve as the titular “running man” on the game show of the same name. He’s placed into a 400-block zone and hunted by “stalkers” (not dissimilar to how the Hunger Games functions). 

Wright’s adaptation was announced in 2021, and was reported to be hewing closer to King’s story. The 1982 novel was set in the distant future of 2025 (yikes!), and a poor and desperate Ben Richards signs up to be in a government-operated game show contestant in order to make money for his sick daughter. Chosen to compete on The Running Man, Ben is let loose to travel anywhere in the world so long as he sends back vlogs to be played on air. In the meantime, he’s tracked by network hitmen called Hunters; for every hour he evades them and every Hunter he kills, he earns more cash, with a $1 billion prize if he can last 30 days. 

Ultimately, the kind of bloodbath-cum-social commentary story we’ve grown pretty familiar with over the years. But Wright’s stylish filmmaking and all-star cast have a strong chance of surpassing the corny quips of the 1987 film, at the very least. Though we probably wouldn’t mind seeing Powell toss out a few one-liners of his own!