Glen Powell Needed Stephen King’s Approval to Star in ‘Running Man’: ‘I Had to Wait’ for Him to Watch ‘Hit Man’ and ‘Hope That I Still Had a Role in the Morning’

Before he could officially sign on to star in Edgar Wright’s film adaptation of the Stephen King novel “The Running Man,” Glen Powell had to get approval from the legendary author himself.

Powell revealed at New York Comic Con (via People) that Wright offered him the lead role of Ben Richards on the condition that King gave him his blessing. “Edgar offered me this movie, and I was like, ‘Yes.’ I’m like, ‘Let’s go…’ And then, like, later that night , ‘By the way, like, you have to be approved by Stephen King. He’s gonna watch ‘Hit Man’ tonight,” Powell recalled.

“And so I had to wait overnight for Stephen King to watch ‘Hit Man’ and hope that I still had the role in the morning. It’s terrible,” he continued. Luckily, King “loved” “Hit Man,” Powell’s 2023 romantic crime comedy directed by Richard Linklater, and agreed that he could take on the role.

In “The Running Man,” Powell plays Ben, a working-class man desperate to help his sick daughter who decides to compete on a TV show where “contestants, known as Runners, must survive 30 days while being hunted by professional assassins, with every move broadcast to a bloodthirsty public and each day bringing a greater cash reward,” according to the film’s synopsis. King’s original 1982 novel was first adapted for the big screen in 1987 starring Arnold Schwarzenegger, but Wright said at NYCC that his movie is “more faithful to the book” while incorporating 21st-century elements.

“The coolest part about this that I’m just really excited about is Edgar decided to take this — loyal to the book — out in the real world,” Powell added. “Citizens can record report you. They can take you out. So there’s this sort of, like, ever-present feeling of tension that’s throughout the entire movie. It’s relentless.”

“The Running Man” hits theaters on Nov. 14 via Paramount Pictures.