Edgar Wright’s The Running Man reboot has added Fear the Walking Dead alum Colman Domingo to its cast in what might just be the perfect role. According to Deadline, Domingo has been cast in the role of the host of the film’s titular, violent reality show. The film, which is based on Stephen King’s 1982 novel published under the pseudonym Richard Bachman and also starring Glen Powell, Josh Brolin, Karl Glusman, Katy O’Brian, and Daniel Ezra, is set to open in theaters on November 7th.
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In The Running Man is set in a dystopian America where Ben Richards (Powell) is “a desperate man needing money for his sick daughter” and joins the popular show, “The Running Man” that sees teams of killers hunt down contestants. The longer a contestant survives, the more money they make. The story was previously made into a 1987 film starring Arnold Schwarzenegger, though that film was a much looser adaptation of the novel. In the 1987 film, the role of The Running Man’s sadistic host Damon Killian was played by real-life Family Feud host Richard Dawson. Dawson received critical acclaim for his work in the film. However, Wright’s adaptation is set to be more faithful to King’s novel. In the novel, Dan Killian is the executive who runs the show and Brolin will be playing it.
According to Deadline’s report, while Wright’s version will see Brolin’s television executive serve as more of the central villain, given the importance of the television host in the previous film Domingo’s role as host in the reboot will be important as well and casting for it was something that those involved with the film wanted to get right. Domingo may be best known for his roles in Fear The Walking Dead, Euphoria, and Sing Sing. Most recently the actor has appeared in Netflix’s The Madness and will voice Norman Osborn in Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man which debuts on Disney+ on January 29th.
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As for the film, Wright is directing from a script that he co-wrote along with Michael Bacall. Wright has previously emphasized that his film will be different from the 1987 film, noting that his film will be closer to the book — though he threw no shade at Schwarzenegger’s film
“I like the film, but I like the book more, and they didn’t really adapt the book,” Wright said previously. “Even as a teenager when I saw the Schwarzenegger film I was like, ‘Oh, this isn’t like the book at all!’ And I think, ‘Nobody’s [done] that book.’ So, when that came up, I was thinking, and Simon Kinberg says, ‘Do you have any interest in The Running Man?’ I said, ‘You know what? I’ve often thought that that book is something crying out to be adapted.’ Now, that doesn’t mean that it’s easy!”
The Running Man is set to open in theaters November 7th.
