Glen Powell’s been on a bit of a tear between Top Gun: Maverick, Netflix’s Hit Man, and Universal’s Twisters, and he’s following that up with an upcoming Stephen King adaptation: The Running Man. After seeing first look footage at Paramount’s 2025 CinemaCon panel (which we live blogged), I have to say I’m almost as excited for this one as I was for Twisters last year – and if you thought the on set stuntwork he got involved in was incredible before, he’s hyping his upcoming 2025 movie release even more.
In fact, this one has Michael Cera gleefully destroying people with a water gun and some electricity, and that alone would be enough to get my butt into a movie theater seat. But Glen Powell was doing some heavy lifting when it came to action in the first footage I saw.
During the event, Edgar Wright and Glen Powell both came onstage, with the latter explaining why he “worked harder” on this project than he even did in previous movies.
When we were shooting The Running Man and I was for many months, I didn’t expect it to be so real. I’ve fallen from buildings. I’ve jumped through explosions. I’ve had my body thrashed and smashed. This is probably what I get for asking Tom Cruise for advice on using a stunt double. Now that I’ve gone through the fire, sometimes literally, I can honestly say I’ve never worked harder on a movie in my life.
This isn't the first time Glen Powell has put his body on the line for a role, so hearing him talk about how insane the work on The Running Man (which was previously adapted with Arnold Schwarzenegger leading in 1987) has me extra hyped.
I mean this is a guy that got into a Navy plane to train for Top Gun: Maverick. (And we heard there was some throwing up involved when G-Forces came into play.) Then, for Twisters, he thought it would all be CGI, but no, a ton of practical effects were brought to the set . At CinemaCon last year the actor admitted a jet engine was used to mimic the effects of a tornado whipping hay and more around on set. In short, I can confirm he's no slouch when it comes to stunts, similar to his mentor Tom Cruise.
The Running Man director Edgar Wright also opened up about Powell's work ethic on the set of the movie, and how much he ultimately took on his shoulders while filming.
Glen was willing to pull out all the stops and do whatever it took to make this film. I can’t imagine anyone but him playing the hero of the story. He literally and figuratively threw himself into it.
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CinemaBlend's Eric Eisenberg was also on hand at CinemaCon when Powell admitted he had to get into "bulletproof" shape in order for the movie to come together, and I'm hoping it pays off in spades for him, Wright and the rest of The Running Man cast. The movie is out this winter on November 7th, 2025.
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Jessica Rawden
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Jessica Rawden is Managing Editor at CinemaBlend. She’s been kicking out news stories since 2007 and joined the full-time staff in 2014. She oversees news content, hiring and training for the site, and her areas of expertise include theme parks, rom-coms, Hallmark (particularly Christmas movie season), reality TV, celebrity interviews and primetime. She loves a good animated movie. Jessica has a Masters in Library Science degree from Indiana University, and used to be found behind a reference desk most definitely not shushing people. She now uses those skills in researching and tracking down information in very different ways.
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