The Running Man is now playing in theaters, and while Edgar Wright's re-adaptation of Stephen King's novel does stick pretty closely to the source material overall, it does make one major change to the ending.
If you've read the book, you'll probably already know exactly what was altered and why, but for those that haven't, here's your spoiler warning.
King's dystopian tale concludes with Ben Richards (played by Glen Powell in the movie) hijacking a plane, with hostages Amelia (Emilia Jones) and lead hunter Evan McCone (Lee Pace) along for the ride. When network owner Killian (Josh Brolin) calls Ben to tell him that his wife and child were murdered by an intruder, Richards kills McCone, forces Amelia to parachute to safety, and then flies the plan directly into the network building, killing Killian and himself.
As you may have guessed, Wright gives his take on the story a much happier ending.
In the movie, the plane is actually shot down before it reaches the building, and the public assumes that Richards has been killed. However, we then see Ben's wife and daughter alive and well in a grocery store, where Ben (hiding his face behind a mask) has paid for their items. After reuniting with his family, Richards returns to the Running Man set accompanied by his enraged followers, and executes Killian in front of the cameras as the crowd apart the set.
During an interview with EW, Wright revealed that King was on board with the new ending.
"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 the Scott Pilgrim director.
"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.' It's more faithful to the book than the previous adaptation [the 1987 film starring Arnold Schwarzenegger], but it does have changes and twists. So I think like Ben Richards, you want to keep readers of the book on the back foot as well."
Have you been to see The Running Man? If so, what did you make of the ending?
"In a near-future society, The Running Man is the top-rated show on television—a deadly competition where contestants, known as Runners, must survive 30 days while being hunted by professional assassins, with every move broadcast to a bloodthirsty public and each day bringing a greater cash reward. Desperate to save his sick daughter, working-class Ben Richards (Glen Powell) is convinced by the show’s charming but ruthless producer, Dan Killian (Josh Brolin), to enter the game as a last resort.
But Ben’s defiance, instincts, and grit turn him into an unexpected fan favorite—and a threat to the entire system. As ratings skyrocket, so does the danger, and Ben must outwit not just the Hunters, but a nation addicted to watching him fall."