After co-starring in Anyone But You, Sydney Sweeney and Glen Powell look like they’re set to reunite for Edgar Wright’s take on The Running Man.
While it’s by no means a done deal, reporter Daniel Richtman is claiming that Sydney Sweeney is in line to star in the new take on The Running Man alongside Glen Powell. The two actors generated lots of headlines for their 2023 romcom Anyone But You, with their very successful press tour lighting up the world of social media and presumably being one of the reasons that the film went on to gross $220m theatrically from a $25m budget. Cripes.
Onscreen, the duo enjoyed plenty of chemistry too and perhaps that’s why Edgar Wright is said to be looking at entreating Sweeney to star opposite Powell in his adaptation of Stephen King’s dystopian tale. The film is set to enter production in October and we know already know that Edgar Wright is a fan of Sweeney’s work; the director has already cast the actor in his planned remake of the 1968 sci-fi flick, Barbarella.
Edgar Wright’s adaptation of the 1982 Stephen King novel (penned under the pseudonym Richard Bachman) envisages ‘a story that is set in an America under a totalitarian regime that uses violent game shows to placate the disenfranchised masses.’
Glen Powell’s Ben Richards enters as a contestant in this violent game show to earn medicine for his sick child. If memory serves correctly, the role of Richards’ wife was a pretty small one but could be beefed up. Alternatively, we could see Sweeney doing an interesting job as the game show host, memorably played by Richard Dawson in the 1987 version of the book which starred Arnold Schwarzenegger.
Sweeney’s slate looks to have a gap this autumn, considering that she’s currently shooting David Michod’s upcoming Christy Martin biopic.
As for The Running Man, you can check out some thoughts on what an Edgar Wright take on King’s material might look like right here. We’ll bring you more on the project, including casting news as it edges closer to that October shoot date.
