Edgar Wright, the director of The Running Man, explained the joke about Arnold Schwarzenegger, the 7-time Mr. Olympia, becoming the United States president while opening up about his 2025 adaptation of the movie.

During an interview with CinemaBlend, the director revealed that the image of the Austrian Oak, who played the protagonist Ben Richards in the 1987 film adaptation, was printed on the $100 bill of the fictional New Dollars currency because, in this version of the States, Schwarzenegger was the president.

Wright said, “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, he's Arnold. He’s not Ben Richards, he’s Arnold Schwarzenegger, the president.”

However, later, the director admitted that the idea of the bodybuilding legend being the president was taken from the writer of the movie Demolition Man, Daniel Waters, and that the 1993 movie mentioned President Schwarzenegger.

So, years later, he continued the joke.

However, the interesting part was that years after Demolition Man was released, Schwarzenegger actually became a politician, not the President, but the governor of California in 2003.

While Wright discussed the joke about Schwarzenegger, the 7-time Mr. Olympia himself opened up about the movie's redo.

Arnold Schwarzenegger on the remake of The Running Man

Wright shared a short clip on his Instagram in which Schwarzenegger was seen talking about Wright and Glen Powell, who played Ben Richards in the 2025 version of the movie.

Schwarzenegger said, “The only movie that I always wanted to have redone of my movies was Running Man. So now this one really upped it and did exactly that. So really fantastic. And the action was unbelievable and creative.”

He also added, “I think it was funny with the hundred-dollar bills.”

Before that, the director also revealed Schwarzenegger's stance and the bodybuilding legend's positive feedback on the movie.

During an interview with ScreenRant, Wright said, “He loved it – freaked out, was so excited. But the first thing he told me, he goes, 'This was a very painful movie for you.' He’s shot so many action movies, and he knows what it takes to throw yourself around.

He was so excited that the Stephen King book we put on screen – it’s really the first time Stephen’s vision has been properly adapted.”

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Written by

Supradeep Dutta

Edited by

Ashvinkumar Patil