NEWS > ENTERTAINMENT > RUNNING MAN SEQUEL TO FINALLY ANSWER UNRESOLVED QUESTIONS

RUNNING MAN SEQUEL TO FINALLY ANSWER UNRESOLVED QUESTIONS

July 12 2009

Hollywood, CA – There is an entire generation of movie goers who know Arnold Schwarzenegger as a Governor. Though his movie career is readily available on DVD and his legacy continues to the modern day with franchises such as ‘The Terminator’ fewer and fewer young viewers realize how big a movie star he once was, something the Governator plans to change as soon as his term in office ends in 2011.

Already Schwarzenegger is lining up a series of roles that would make any modern day action star jealous with sequels to many of his most popular films and new properties in the works. None of those post-gubernatorial projects is creating as much buzz as the just announced sequel to the 1987 hit film ‘The Running Man’ which will pit Schwarzenegger’s Ben Richards against the evils of corporate greed once again. Though details are scarce at the moment, producers and returning director Paul Michael Glaser promise plenty of surprises and plenty of answers to questions that the original film never fully resolved.

“It’s hard for people to see now because the film is so well loved but when it was originally released ‘The Running Man’ wasn’t  a runaway success, so to speak. It did well and made back its budget by it wasn’t exactly a blockbuster, especially compared to the hits these days. That limited our ability to get a sequel off the ground back then which left many questions unanswered that we really wanted to address. Now that the movie is
considered a classic the situation has changed and that is allowing us to finally address those issues,” said Glaser. “The new story will take place in context. Ben will have aged the same as Arnold. That will give us the chance to create new villains with genuine axes to grind, specifically the children of the dead stalkers and Killian. Other issues like whether or not Ben got his trip to Hawaii and how the stalkers got their names will also be answered. We really think this will satisfy a lot of issues and bring closure for all of us.”

Glaser’s last major movie was the Shaquille O’Neal vehicle ‘Kazaam’, a film the director is also looking to sequelize.

“I am very excited to be starring in this sequel to a movie that so many people love so much. This movie was a great experience and I am so so happy to be appearing in this new movie so that all of my fans can enjoy the story and the action that we can bring,” said the Governor. “I am very enthusiastic to be bringing this story back to the fans and look forward to once again bring back the action and humor that so many people love so much.”

It has not been confirmed but it is also believed that co-star Maria Conchita Alonso will also return for the sequel.

“Logic would dictate that films like this wouldn’t fly with today’s audience. Movies now
tend to have a lot more realism and don’t go in for the kind of clichés that so dominated the action movies from the 80’s but if there is any film that begs for a sequel it is ‘The Running Man’. The universe that they created with that picture is particularly resonant today and will speak to audiences in a whole new way. The fact that they are going to resolve some of those pressing questions is also quite heartening,” said Scrape TV Entertainment analyst Tracey Temple. “For almost twenty-five years fans of the movie have been living with these questions and finally we will have some answers and a whole lot of action.”

Production is slated for late 2011 and will begin running the following year. 

Samantha Dryden, Entertainment Correspondent

NEWS > ENTERTAINMENT > RUNNING MAN SEQUEL TO FINALLY ANSWER UNRESOLVED QUESTIONS