One minor The Running Man SPOILER is ahead.
Glen Powell’s role as Ben Richards in The Running Man marks the second time the Stephen King character has been adapted for film following the 1987 version starring Arnold Schwarzenegger. However, there’s a fun connection between the films to be found in the 2025 movie release in the form of a brief appearance by Schwarzenegger on a $100 bill in the film.. But what does that mean he’s playing exactly?
CinemaBlend found out when we spoke to writer/director Edgar Wright. When Jeff McCobb asked him if Schwarzenegger is playing the president in The Running Man, here’s how the filmmaker responded:
We decided that in slightly alternate 2025 is that they change the rules, and people not born in the United States can run for president. So, the governor of California eventually became the president and in our version of events, And he’s Arnold. He’s not Ben Richards, he’s Arnold Schwarzenegger, the president.
If you missed Arnold Schwarzenegger’s cameo in The Running Man, when the fictional competition series The Running Man is playing, a woman presents a look at the money contestants can earn, and on the bill is Schwarzenegger’s face. Take a look:
Arnold Schwarzenegger was the governor of California from 2003 to 2011, and it even looks like they used his official governor photo on the bill! What a fun little way to pay tribute to his legacy in The Running Man. As Edgar Wright continued in our interview:
I have to give credit to Daniel Waters, the great writer who wrote Demolition Man because he made that joke first in Demolition Man. They make a brief mention of President Schwarzenegger. So, I wanted to continue that joke.
As Edgar Wright pointed out, he’s not the first filmmaker to make Schwarzenegger president in a sci-fi movie. It was also done in 1993’s Demolition Man. In that film, which was co-written by Daniel Waters (alongside Robert Reneau and Peter M. Lenkov), it’s mentioned that Arnold Schwarzenegger was the President of the United States after a Constitutional amendment was passed that allowed him to run for the office due to his popularity. The actor wouldn’t be able to run in real life because he was born in Austria.
Along with Schwarzenegger getting a nod in the movie, he also gave his blessing to Glen Powell to star in the film, as well as saw the new movie and give the actor his thoughts on it. (Did you know Powell and Schwarzenegger were both in an Expendables movie together years ago?) Per the new The Running Man star, Schwarzenegger “just kept saying ‘it’s incredible’” after the screening, along with noticing that it was a “very painful movie” for Powell given all the stunts he achieved.
You can check out what critics are saying about it, including our own The Running Man review, and of course see it only in theaters now.