The Running Man director Edgar Wright reveals at New York Comic Con that his upcoming film features a fun Arnold Schwarzenegger Easter egg that the actor himself approved. Based on the 1982 Stephen King novel, Wright’s upcoming adaptation is the second of its kind after Paul Michael Glᴀsser’s 1987 movie.
During the upcoming film’s panel at NYCC, for which ScreenRant is in attendance, director Wright reveals that Schwarzenegger’s face appears on all the $100 bills in The Running Man as a nod to his starring role as Ben Richards in the 1987 adaptation. The production gave the star a call to check with him first, and he ended up being into the idea, thinking it fitting that he be on the $100 bill specifically.
1987’s The Running Man came at the height of Schwarzenegger’s stardom in Hollywood. The actor was coming off of movies like The Terminator (1984), Commando (1985), and Predator (1987). The King adaptation, however, wasn’t quite as big of a hit, though it’s now regarded a cult classic.
In Wright’s adaptation, Glen Powell takes on the role of Ben Richards, a wrongly accused cop who gets his sH๏τ at freedom in the form of a TV game show in which he is hunted around the world by violent killers. The Running Man‘s cast also includes Josh Brolin, Colman Domingo, Lee Pace, Emilia Jones, and Michael Cera, among others.
During the panel, Powell also gushed about what it was like working with Brolin, who plays a polished and upper-class villain named Dan Killian in the film. “Josh is like the greatest,” Powell said.
Some have been hoping for a Schwarzenegger cameo in the film, but Wright’s latest comment suggests that the $100 bills will be the only form in which the original star appears. That doesn’t mean there aren’t other Easter eggs and references, though.
Though Schwarzenegger’s appearance on the $100 bill may go unnoticed by some viewers, especially those who are perhaps too young to remember the 1987 film, it serves as a subtle callback to what marked the first crack at King’s 1982 novel. It remains unclear how Wright’s version of The Running Man will stack up, but viewers should evidently keep their eyes peeled for other Easter eggs and callbacks.