Arnold Schwarzenegger has revealed to GAMINGbible that he’d be up for returning to the world of The Running Man, his cult action movie of 1987 that’s very in tune with current battle royale gameplay trends. When we asked if he’d like to see any of his older movies revived for modern gaming audiences, he agreed that The Running Man was ripe for reinventing as a multiplayer experience.
GAMINGbible recently had the chance to have a few words with the action movie legend, who is currently appearing in the new Holiday Ops 2022 activity in World of Tanks. Players of the game can unlock all kinds of Arnold-themed in-game goodies from December 9 (so, right now) to January 10, 2022 (so, next year) - including your own virtual Arnold to use as your tank commander. The actor’s recorded new lines for the game, too, so if you’re a fan of tanks, free stuff, and Arnie, go and take a look at what else they have on offer, here.
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We’ll be running our full interview with Arnold Schwarzenegger really soon - but before we get to that, back to The Running Man. Directed by Paul Michael Glaser and also starring Jesse Ventura, Yaphet Kotto and María Conchita Alonso, the movie sees convicted criminals try to stay alive in a televised game of cat and mouse, where they’re pursued by an array of trained killers.
Schwarzenegger’s character, Ben Richards, is framed and ends up on the show, attempting to stay alive while hunted by characters with superhero-ish names: Buzzsaw, Dynamo, and Captain Freedom. Its formula is perfect for a modern multiplayer game - be that an asymmetrical setup like Dead by Daylight, or a full-scale battle royale with 100 ‘runners’ competing to be the last man standing.
“I never had much time to play video games,” Arnold told us, when we asked if he’d experienced the arcade rush of the late 1970s and early 1980s, as a young man in America. “However, I’m really impressed that gaming has become more mainstream now compared to years ago. There are a lot more people playing video games these days and they are now a part of everyday life, just like movies and TV series are.”
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Continuing with the conversation, we asked if any of his older movies could be reborn for today’s gaming audience. After all, we’ve seen games based on The Terminator and Predator - why not something like The Running Man? The movie did get a home computer game adaptation in 1989, and 1990’s arcade hit Smash TV took obvious influences from it - but it’s been a while, huh?
“That would be really fun, I’m sure the fans would love a Running Man game,” he said. “As I said I’m not much of a gamer, but I would be interested to see how they put that together. Get someone working on it and I’ll be there to add my voice!”
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Okay developers, there you have it, that’s a challenge for 2022: get yourself a game based on The Running Man together, and Arnold himself will be there to record lines for it. Our full piece with Arnold, talking more about all things World of Tanks, his own gaming habits, and modern cinema techniques, will be online soon.
Featured Image Credit: Wargaming, Tri-Star PicturesTopics: TV And Film