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The Running Man reboot introduces Michael Cera as a dystopian Home Alone kid, and I'm so here for it

Not gonna lie, the beard on Michael Cera's Running Man character (debuted in the trailer) looks a little off. But the invader-smashing booby traps are so, so on.

Edgar Wright's Running Man trailer is here, and it's just as groovy and gratuitous as we've all hoped. Yes, most of the trailer is centered on Glen Powell's Ben Richards (a shirtless one at that), which makes sense, as he's the main character. But if you'll humor me, I'd love to talk about the Michael Cera character who... oh wait, you haven't seen the trailer yet? Oh gosh, let's fix that.

All good? Great. Let's talk about a Cera's character, who seems to be a conspiracy-theorist that doesn't buy the idea that the titular Squid Game-esque survival show is fair to all its players. Cera's character doesn't seem to trust any of the powers at be, in fact, which is probably why he's rigged his home floor with open electrical wiring and is preparing to use a Super Soaker™ to give a bunch of on-the-take goons the nastiest shock of their life.

But the Kevin McCallister of it all doesn't end there. Rewind a bit and you'll see that Cera's character also seems to have his home rigged with a powerful spring-loaded bar that shoves undeseriables off his stairs, like a windshield-wiper for goons. And keep in mind, this short trailer only shows a couple seconds of footage, so we expect to see more tricks the character has up his sleeve by the time the movie explodes into theaters.

And before we go: who is that character? I won't lie to you, reader, I'm not sure. The Hollywood Reporter says that Cera's character is "a naïve rebel who tries to help" Powell, and his character's name is not listed on the IMDb page for the film. Maybe Stephen King experts who have read the novel on which the film is based on will have a better idea of who Cera's Home Alone character could be, but the movie's marketing isn't being very forthcoming.

The Running Man comes to theaters November 7. 


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Grant DeArmitt

Grant DeArmitt: Grant DeArmitt (he/him) likes horror, comics, and the unholy union of the two. As Popverse's Staff Writer, he criss-crosses the pop culture landscape bringing you the news and opinions about the big things (and the next big things). In the past, and despite their better judgment, he has written for Nightmare on Film Street and Newsarama. He lives in Brooklyn with his partner, Kingsley, and corgi, Legs.

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