Edgar Wright on The Running Man starring Glen Powell: 'Dystopian fiction is a warning about the future'

In Edgar Wright’s latest sci-fi spectacle The Running Man, the filmmaker holds up what he calls “a fun house mirror to our reality.” And when that reflection looks bleak, that’s precisely the point.

When I tell him that his new film both entertained and unsettled me — that it left me strangely sad, as if watching the world slide toward anarchy — Wright smiles thoughtfully.

“Well, I mean, I think it's the job of genre films and science fiction films to hold up a fun house mirror to our reality,” he says. “And I think what hopefully is good about the movie is that it's an entertaining action film, but it gives you something to think about. Maybe the job of dystopian fiction is to bring around change — it's like a warning about the future.”

Based on Stephen King’s novel, The Running Man imagines a world ruled by televised cruelty, where truth-tellers are punished, and distraction is currency. Glen Powell stars as Ben Richards, a man whose honesty has made him an enemy of the state — and the perfect candidate for a deadly game show.

“The thing with Glen's character, which is straight from the book, is that he has a lot of righteous anger,” says Wright. “But he's also living in a world where a lot of people would rather keep their head down and not say anything. So he's a character that's been punished for telling it like it is, for standing up to bullies and standing up against injustice. And it's meant that he's been dealt a sort of cruel hand in this world. So he is, as it’s said in the movie, an angry man — but that also, ironically, makes him the prime candidate to be on the show.”

Wright, known for his kinetic storytelling in films like Baby Driver and Shaun of the Dead, pushes Powell to his limits here. The actor’s intensity, both physical and emotional, is a core of the film’s humanity.

“He has righteous anger,” Wright repeats. “He’s not a superhero — he’s someone who’s just been dealt a bad hand and keeps fighting back.”

When I tell Wright that Powell’s vulnerability reminded me of an old-school Bollywood hero — full of emotion, loyalty, and family-driven motives — he bursts out laughing.

“I need a big song number,” he jokes. “I'll come to India and do the Bollywood version.”

The conversation shifts to the bigger picture: the uncertain state of Hollywood itself. With AI on the rise, ongoing labor unrest, and the tension between box office success and artistic credibility, how does a director like him navigate it all?

“Oh my God,” he laughs. “Is it wrong to want both?”
Then, more soberly:
“I'm just grateful to be working. This film employed a lot of artists and gave lots of people jobs for a year. We're all really proud of the movie and proud to be working on it. I can only hope that continues.”

Wright admits that The Running Man is entertainment first — a propulsive, darkly funny action film — but insists that its subtext matters just as much.

“It's an entertaining action film, but it gives you something to think about,” he repeats, as if to underscore his mission statement. “The job of dystopian fiction is to bring around change. It's a warning about the future.”

That’s Wright’s brand of optimism — the belief that even in chaos, cinema can still provoke reflection.

Don’t miss it.

The Running Man is out in UAE cinemas on November 13.