Edgar Wright to Direct Adaptation of Stephen King’s ‘The Running Man’ for Paramount

Edgar Wright has been tapped to direct “The Running Man” for Paramount Pictures, an adaptation of Stephen King’s dystopian horror novel.

“The Running Man,” published in 1982, was originally written under King’s pseudonym Richard Bachman. The story takes place in the United States in the year 2025, which sees the economy in ruins and violence dramatically escalating. The book was loosely adapted into a 1987 film that was directed by Paul Michael Glaser and featured Arnold Schwarzenegger. The upcoming version is expected to stay more faithful to the source material. The cast has not been set yet.

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Michael Bacall penned the script from a story he co-wrote with Wright. Simon Kinberg (“X-Men,” “Dark Phoenix”) and Audrey Chon will produce the film for Genre Films, as will Nira Park for Wright’s company Complete Fiction.

King’s novels, in genres ranging from horror and sci-fi to crime and fantasy, have been rich material for films and television shows. Among the most successful have been “Carrie,” “The Shining,” “It” and the sequel “It: Chapter Two.” Paramount recently adapted “Pet Semetary,” based on King’s 1983 book.

Wright, whose resume includes “Shaun of the Dead,” “Hot Fuzz” and “Baby Driver,” recently debuted his music documentary “The Sparks Brothers” at the virtual Sundance Film Festival. In her review for Variety, Jessica Kiang praised the documentary and called it a “fabulous tribute” to the Sparks, “the band that has been the Next Big Thing for 50-odd (very odd) years.”

Wright’s latest movie, the psychological thriller “Last Night in Soho,” stars Anya-Taylor Joy, Thomasin McKenzie and Matt Smith. It is scheduled to debut later this year.

Wright, Bacall and Park are repped by CAA.

Deadline Hollywood first reported the news.

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