The Running Man mixes mayhem and humor in first trailer

As promised, the first trailer for director Edgar Wright’s take on Stephen King’s novel The Running Man is here — and it looks like a playful throwback to ‘80s action movies. The story centers on a struggling man named Ben Richards, played by Glen Powell, who is a contestant on a mega-popular TV game show where he’s hunted by trained killers, and earns more money the longer he stays alive. The goal is to last a whole 30 days unscathed, which typically doesn’t happen. Oh, and basically every citizen is trying to catch him as well. Despite the dark premise, the trailer has a fairly lighthearted tone, mixed in with all of the death and destruction. In addition to being helmed by Wright — who is best-known for movies like Shaun of the Dead, Baby Driver, and Scott Pilgrim vs. The World — the new movie also includes a pretty large and notable cast. That includes Powell in the lead role, alongside Katy O’Brian, Daniel Ezra, Karl Glusman, Josh Brolin, Lee Pace, Jayme Lawson, Michael Cera, Emilia Jones, William H. Macy, David Zayas, Sean Hayes, and Colman Domingo. Of course, this isn’t the first adaptation of the book. It follows Paul Michael Glaser’s film from 1987, which starred Arnold Schwarzenegger and had something of a post-apocalyptic-meets-American Gladiators vibe. The latest version of The Running Man also isn’t the only dystopic King adaptation in the works right now. The slightly slower-paced novel The Long Walk is also coming to theaters this year from Hunger Games director Francis Lawrence. It premieres on September 12th. The Running Man is scheduled to hit theaters on November 7th.