The Running Man Major Ending Change Gets Stephen King’s Reaction

Director Edgar Wright’s big-screen reimagining of the 1982 dystopian thriller novel The Running Man may have a different ending than its source material, but it seems to have author Stephen King’s stamp of approval. Talking about the latest adaptation of his works, King noted that even though the Glen Powell-led movie ends the story in a different way, it serves as a fitting conclusion nonetheless.

Stephen King gives opinion on The Running Man remake ending change

While speaking to Entertainment Weekly, Stephen King remarked that despite straying away from his vision, The Running Man movie’s ending would leave fans of the original novel “satisfied.”

“I like the ending of Edgar’s version of The Running Man very much,” the acclaimed horror writer said before adding, “Can’t say too much — spoilers — but I think readers of the novel will be satisfied because they get to have it both ways. If you see what I mean, and I’m betting you do.”

In the pages, The Running Man wraps up with Ben Richards flying the hijacked plane straight into the network building of the game show, supposedly killing himself as well as Dan Killian, the competition’s producer.

The movie, on the other hand, ends with the network shooting down Ben’s plane before it reaches the building, with the rebellious contestant presumed to have died in the ordeal. Nevertheless, the film later shows that Ben had survived the crash and leads an angry mob of protestors to the next iteration of The Running Man game, where he shoots Killian in the head.

“Stephen King read the screenplay before we started filming, and so I was kind of most nervous about what he would think, but he loved it,” said Edgar Wright, the director of the recently released adaptation.

Adding to what King said to him after going through the revised ending for The Running Man, Wright revealed, “He watched the film recently, and one thing he said that I really liked, he said, ‘It’s much more faithful to the book, but different enough to keep it exciting for me.’”

Having premiered in London earlier this month, The Running Man released across the country on November 14, 2025.

Source: Comingsoon.net