Stephen King Approved Changes to New Movie’s Ending (and It Needed to Happen)

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Speaking with Film Stories, Wright recalled the day he sent the Running Man script to King and asked the author for his thoughts. “Possibly the most nerve-wracking day of the entire production was writing to King with an attachment of the screenplay and pressing send,” Wright said. “Everybody knew at the outset that [the novel’s ending] wasn’t going to be part of this adaptation exactly the way … [King] realized even before he read it that we weren’t going to be doing the ending from the book. And when he emailed back, he said, ‘I was very curious how you were going to tackle the ending, and I think you did a great job.’ So I was very happy with that.”

Why The Running Man Couldn’t Adapt the Book’s Ending

Anyone who’s read The Running Man knows it would have been impossible for Wright to bring the novel’s ending to the big screen. Without getting into too much detail, the book concludes with a harrowing sequence depicting protagonist Ben Richards crashing a plane into Games Network’s headquarters in an act of revenge, and he perishes in the fiery explosion. If that scene was adapted in Wright’s film, it would have rather uncomfortably evoked memories of the September 11 attacks, so it’s definitely for the best that it was changed. Choosing to not alter the ending in any way would have been in poor taste.

Interestingly, The Running Man isn’t the only King adaptation this year that got a new ending. Director Francis Lawrence and screenwriter JT Mollner switched things up for their take on The Long Walk, a decision that seemingly paid off. The Long Walk earned widely positive reviews, making it one of the most acclaimed King adaptations of all time. The new ending was a point of discussion — particularly amongst King fans — but some people actually prefer the film’s conclusion, feeling it ends the story on a poignant and powerful note. Ideally, The Running Man will be able to follow suit, crafting a new ending that stays true to the story’s themes.

Obviously, Wright is keeping his new ending under wraps until The Running Man hits theaters this November. It’ll be interesting to see what he and co-writer Michael Bacall crafted. When The Running Man wrapped production earlier this year, Wright and star Glen Powell commemorated the occasion by showing off a board autographed by the cast and crew. Included on the board was a drawing of Richards saying “Richards lives!” Some could have interpreted that as a clue for the new ending, with Richards surviving his trying ordeal and making it back to his family. It seems unlikely the director would willingly spoil something like that months before the premiere, but Wright’s films typically end on an upbeat note (even The World’s End, which features an apocalyptic event, ends with Gary King triumphantly traveling with the younger versions of his friends).

The Running Man novel has a bleak ending, so perhaps Wright changed things to inject a note of hope and optimism into the story, finding a ray of light in the darkness. Whatever Wright came up with, it got King’s stamp of approval, which is what’s most important. King doesn’t hide his feelings when he hates an adaptation of one of his books, so it’s encouraging to hear he was onboard with Wright’s vision for The Running Man. This suggests the new ending concludes the narrative in a satisfying way that’s in line with the rest of the plot.