‘The Running Man’ Casts Colman Domingo

(Left) Colman Domingo as Bayard Rustin in ‘Rustin.’ Photo: David Lee/Netflix. (Right) Richard Dawson in ‘The Running Man’. Photo: Tri-Star Pictures.

Preview:

Colman Domingo has joined the cast of director Edgar Wright’s ‘The Running Man,’ a new adaptation of the early dystopian novel by Stephen King.
Domingo will play the host of a deadly TV reality show in which one person is pursued around the world by hunters, with all looking to win a cash prize.
The role of the host was played by actor and real-life game show host Richard Dawson in the 1987 version of the story, opposite Arnold Schwarzenegger.

‘Sing Sing’ and ‘Euphoria’ star Colman Domingo has joined the cast of ‘The Running Man,’ a new adaptation of the Stephen King novel from director Edgar Wright. According to Deadline, Domingo will play the host of a futuristic TV reality show in which one person must elude and kill others who are pursuing them, with a cash prize awaiting the survivor.

“It is the year 2019. “The Running Man” is a deadly game no one has ever survived. But Schwarzenegger has yet to play.”

R1 hr 41 minNov 13th, 1987

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Domingo joins an already star-studded ensemble that includes Glen Powell as the title character and Josh Brolin as the head of the TV network, with the cast also including Katy O’Brian, Karl Glusman, William H. Macy, Michael Cera, Lee Pace, Emilia Jones, and more.

What is the Plot of ‘The Running Man’?

Arnold Schwarzenegger as Captain Benjamin “Ben” Richards in ‘The Running Man.’ Photo: Tri-Star Pictures.

‘The Running Man’ is based on an early novel by Stephen King, published in 1982 under the name Richard Bachman. The book, set in a totalitarian United States in the year 2025 (!), follows a man named Ben Richards who, out of work and desperate for money to get medicine for his gravely ill daughter, becomes a contestant on the enormously popular title program, in which one person is pursued by a team of assassins sent to kill them. Paid $100 for every hour he survives and for every hunter he kills, Richards can earn $1 billion if he stays alive for 30 days.

The 1987 film based on the novel, directed by former ‘Starsky and Hutch’ star Paul Michael Glaser and starring Arnold Schwarzenegger as Richards, took a lot of liberties with King’s novel, turning his grim thriller into a much more colorful and even campy action-adventure ride. Wright’s adaptation seems likely to stay more faithful to the original text, although it seems to have retained the element of having multiple contestants in the game instead of just one.

The Background of Colman Domingo’s Role

(L to R) Arnold Schwarzenegger and Richard Dawson in ‘The Running Man.’ Photo: Tri-Star Pictures.

In the novel, the main villain is Dan Killian, the head of the TV network, while the game’s host, Bobby Thompson, is a less important character. For the 1987 film, the two were combined as Damon Killian, played by Richard Dawson. An actor by trade, Dawson was best known at the time as the host of the real-life game show ‘Family Feud,’ and his scenery-chewing antics in the movie arguably stole the show from its muscle-bound star.

Josh Brolin will play Dan Killian in Wright’s ‘The Running Man,’ but with the hiring of Domingo, the role of Thompson seems likely to be a more important part of the proceedings as well. Domingo is currently favored for a best actor Oscar nomination for his lead role in the acclaimed ‘Sing Sing,’ and in addition to his Emmy-winning recurring character on HBO’s ‘Euphoria,’ his other credits include ‘Rustin’ (for which he was also Oscar-nominated), ‘Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom,’ ‘The Color Purple,’ and a main role on ‘Fear the Walking Dead.’