Glen Powell Got Arnold Schwarzenegger’s “Full Blessing” for ‘The Running Man’ Remake

Before stepping into the spotlight for his newest role, actor Glen Powell made sure to get approval from someone who knows the story well , Arnold Schwarzenegger.

Powell, who will star in director Edgar Wright’s upcoming version of The Running Man, shared that Arnold gave him his support. Schwarzenegger played the lead in the 1987 movie version of the story, which was directed by Paul Michael Glaser.

“Arnold gave us his blessing,” Powell told People. “His son, Patrick Schwarzenegger, is a great friend of mine and I asked Patrick if I could talk to Arnold, and I hadn’t seen Arnold since we shot Expendables in Bulgaria.”

Powell also said that Arnold’s approval meant a lot to him, and he’s excited to give Arnold a special gift from the new movie.

“Arnold gave us his full blessing, and we get to give Arnold a very specific fun gift from the movie in a couple of weeks here. So I’m very excited to see him.”

The film is based on Stephen King’s 1982 novel, which was written under the name Richard Bachman. The story follows Ben Richards, a man living in a dark, future society. He’s a prisoner who tries to escape by joining a deadly game show where he must run for his life while being hunted.

Powell spoke more about the film at CinemaCon, where he was named Star of the Year. He appeared on stage with director Edgar Wright and his co-stars Josh Brolin and Colman Domingo, where they showed the first footage from the movie, which comes out November 7.

Powell shared how much physical work went into filming the movie. “I knew we were going to be shooting a lot of practical stunts on this movie, and I definitely got in what I call bulletproof shape, just knowing I was going to have to take some hits,” he told the crowd. “But I don’t think I fully prepped myself for what we tackled on this one,” he added.

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