Glen Powell may be closing the door on ever joining the ranks of superpowered heroes in the Marvel or DC universes.
In a recent interview with Empire Magazine, the Top Gun: Maverick and Twisters star revealed he's not particularly drawn to roles that involve capes, cosmic powers, or mutant abilities.
“I just don’t identify with people with superpowers for the most part,” Powell explained, discussing what led him to take on the role of Richards in the upcoming remake of The Running Man. “I like the ordinary guy against extraordinary odds. The entire world is hunting this man, trying to kill him. Can he survive? Can he save his family? That’s a great, simple story.”
Powell's comments seem to dash fan hopes of seeing him play characters like Aquaman or Nova, popular choices in recent fancast discussions.
However, his preference for grounded, human stories doesn’t completely shut him out of the superhero world. After all, Bruce Wayne has no superpowers unless you count his"super preperation" abilities...
The 1987 sci-fi action film, loosely based on Stephen King’s novel, starred iconic action star Arnold Schwarzenegger as Ben Richards- a wrongly accused ex-cop forced into a deadly televised competition reminiscent of American Gladiator.
Given Schwarzenegger's physique, the movie reimagined King’s protagonist as a muscular action hero battling assassins for a chance at freedom and his daughter’s survival.
However, the upcoming remake from Edgar Wright and Glen Powell aims to stick closer to King’s original vision. This new adaptation will portray Richards not as a hardened fighter, but as a desperate, everyman character pushed to extremes in a dystopian society that turns suffering into entertainment.
In addition to Powell, the remake also stars Colman Domingo (If Beale Street Could Talk), Michael Cera, (Scot Pilgrim vs the World), Josh Brolin (Dune: Part Two, Avengers: Infinity War), Emilia Jones (Locke & Key), Lee Pace (Halt and Catch Fire, Foundation), William H. Macy (Shameless))and Katy O’Brian (Love Lies Bleeding).
Brolin is set to play a producer of the show, with Domingo playing the show's host, and Pace playing one of the fiendish hunters tasked with hunting down the game's contestants.
Cera is reportedly playing a rebel that's out to overthrow the government and finds himself assisting Powell's lead character.
Katy O'Brian, Daniel Ezra, and Karl Glusman are also set to appear in supporting roles.
The Running Man is scheduled to be theatrically released on November 7, 2025.