Stephen King’s 1982 novel “The Working Man” is a gritty dystopian motion thriller with a scrappy protagonist named Ben Richards. It was tailored right into a campy film in 1987 that starred Arnold Schwarzenegger and has since been re-adapted right into a film for audiences in 2025. This new movie, starring Glen Powell as Ben Richards, is presenting itself as a mixture between King’s e book and the ’87 “Working Man” film; it options plenty of the campier parts of the Schwarzenegger movie, but it surely additionally seems to be following the essential plot factors of the unique novel.
Most likely the largest adaptive flourish obvious within the trailer is the casting of Powell as Richards. In King’s novel, the character is athletic sufficient to do nicely within the Working Man recreation present, however he is additionally malnourished on account of the poverty he endured for many years previous to the story’s inciting incident. However when Powell has talked about Richards from the e book, it looks as if he is considering extra concerning the Schwarzenegger model as a substitute.
“I knew that primarily based on the Stephen King e book, Ben Richards was a tank,” as Powell beforehand defined in a GQ profile. “I used to be like, ‘Okay, I obtained to be a little bit of a weapon.’ And in order that’s why I skilled the way in which I skilled on this. I placed on plenty of muscle. A variety of it was useful. A variety of it was so I may take up hits. However plenty of it was additionally authentically for an viewers.”
After all, not each film adaptation must be trustworthy to the e book, and a model of “The Working Man” that includes a buff protagonist is not inherently unhealthy. So, if Powell was aiming to painting a muscular, flashy lead, it is good that motion legend Tom Cruise was round to assist him out. As Powell defined to GQ, Cruise not solely suggested him on the way to prepare for the movie’s huge stunts, however he additionally helped him grow to be the tank that Ben Richards is outwardly speculated to be. As Powell put it:
“I went from going, ‘Oh, I am an actor on a film’ to ‘I am a high-performance athlete.’ And I am simply very fortunate that I’ve somebody like Tom who I may actually go, ‘Hey, what do I do to outlive one thing?'”
Glen Powell and Tom Cruise grew to become shut due to High Gun: Maverick
Paramount Footage
Powell labored alongside “Cruise” on the set of “High Gun: Maverick,” though he nearly did not star within the film in any respect. As Cruise instructed GQ in the identical profile, Powell had tried out for the position of Goose’s son, who ended up being performed by Miles Teller; Powell was as a substitute supplied the minor position of Lt. Jake “Hangman” Seresin, however he initially declined. It merely wasn’t the main position he was in search of.
Cruise satisfied him to take the job anyway, and the 2 seem to have developed a pleasant mentor/mentee relationship since then. Powell recalled how Cruise gave him recommendation not simply on the way to prepare his physique, but in addition on the way to cope with all the additional consideration that is come along with his rise in fame. As Powell defined:
“He mainly stated, ‘Hey, it may get actually, actually loud. It is your job to only flip the amount down. Simply bear in mind you’ve gotten your hand on that change. You may have your hand on the flexibility to show up that noise or flip it down.’ And actually simply turning down the noise and trusting your personal intestine has been an actual godsend for me.”
Cruise’s mentorship of Powell is smart provided that the youthful actor has comparable goals of being a long-lasting A-list star, i.e. somebody who would possibly even be main his personal eight-part motion movie sequence down the road (à la Cruise and the “Mission: Unattainable” films). Like Cruise, Powell additionally has a handsome-yet-distinct face and has proven himself able to appearing with much more vary than many give him credit score for (particularly in films like “Hit Man”). Powell might not have what it takes to present a 100% book-accurate depiction of Ben Richards from “The Working Man,” however he does appear prepared to stay round on the large display for many years to come back.
“The Working Man” will open in theaters on November 14, 2025.
