Glen Powell’s The Running Man is gearing up to be a joyride of epic proportions, if its new trailer is anything to go by. The Stephen King novel of the same name is his second movie adaptation of 2025 alone, and the 11th one in the last 6 years that is yet to hit a commercial home run at the box office.
Since Andy Muschietti‘s It: Chapter Two (2019), King has seemingly hit a low point in his career where none of his works seem to land well commercially. Despite Doctor Sleep, The Life of Chuck, The Monkey, and The Long Walk landing impressive critics’ ratings, they have failed to bring in the big bucks.
Now, all eyes are on Glen Powell, Edgar Wright, and The Running Man as audiences expect the film to succeed where 10 other movies have failed since 2019.
The Running Man Trailer Breakdown: Glen Powell Brings a Video Game World to Life
Glen Powell’s latest box office project, The Running Man, is about to be every action lover’s wet dream. The smorgasbord of stunt, adrenaline, and jet-packed action that the movie’s latest trailer offers is only a minuscule portion of the whole, and yet it has its tenderhooks lodged deep into the theatergoer’s mind.
So far, the trailer promises a constant edge-of-the-seat thrill with Powell bringing his signature charm and a dash of humor into the mix. The Running Man skyrockets its stakes from the very first scene and takes it to a stratospheric level with enough C4s, grenades, masked assassins, gun fights, epic slo-mos, car chases, and explosions to put even John Wick to shame.
Michael Cera, of course, remains the unsung hero, the underrated cameo, the uncontested scene stealer, and the best part about the whole 150-second trailer.
The Running Man Might Restore Stephen King’s Box Office Glory
In 1987, Arnold Schwarzenegger (the biggest, most bankable action movie star of Hollywood at the peak of his career at the time) failed to do justice to Stephen King’s The Running Man adaptation. 38 years later, Glen Powell (one of the biggest, most bankable movie stars of current Hollywood) may just set the record straight on this one.
The 1982 novel is one of King’s strongest works, featuring a compelling plot, a high-stakes game with deadly consequences, a blend of action and humor, a David versus Goliath tale, and all of it set against the backdrop of a dystopian world in the near future. The story seems tailor-made for the big screen experience.
Considering King’s recent box office duds, The Running Man is shaping up to be the redemption that the author has been looking for since It: Chapter Two, his last hit. The 2025 film might just be the one to restore King to his lost Hollywood glory, especially with Powell in the front lines leading the charge.
Below is a list of all the essential facts about the upcoming movie:
The Running Man premieres around the world on 14 November 2025.
