Glen Powell reinvents The Survivor and faces the challenge of being “the new Schwarzenegger”

Hollywood is often accused of not creating new stars. But Glen Powellone of the most rising figures in recent years, has just received a definitive test: starring in the remake of The survivor, the same role that he immortalized in 1987 Arnold Schwarzenegger. However, the actor prefers to avoid the successor label. “I don’t consider myself exceptional,” Powell told AFP in Los Angeles, days before the world premiere.

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The film—which hits theaters this Friday—is directed by Edgar Wrightcreator of Baby Driver y Scott Pilgrim. Unlike its eighties predecessor, this version returns to the essence of the novel by Stephen Kingwhich exposed media manipulation and television turned into a spectacle of violence.

An ordinary man trapped in a deadly reality show

Powell interpreta a Ben Richardsa worker who ends up inside a reality show where professional assassins try to kill him in front of millions of viewers. He has no military skills or superhero body; just the urgent need to earn money to buy the medicine that will save her daughter’s life. “Some of my favorite movies are about ordinary people in extraordinary situations. And Ben is the most common thing you will find,” he explains.

The film abandons the invincible hero. Richards receives blows, falls from heights and experiences absurd situations, such as fleeing only wrapped in a towel. The very physical rawness of the shoot caught Schwarzenegger’s attention after a private screening. “He saw it and told me: ‘I’m sorry for you. That must have hurt’. It was incredible to have their approval,” Powell recalls with a laugh.

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The original novel was published in 1982 under the pseudonym Richard Bachmanbut King imagined a future spent in United States in 2025. The scenario included autocracy, social inequality and information manipulation: disturbingly current elements.

In the film, the producers of the reality show They manipulate images, edit evidence and create fake videos to increase the rating. Powell assures that this point was decisive in accepting the project. “We live in a TikTok universe. We see carnage without getting involved as human beings. Sometimes they send me deepfakes and they don’t even question if it’s real,” he says.

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The question posed by the film is direct and current: “Where do people get their news and who controls the information?” In times of digital misinformation, fiction borders on documentary.

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Powell established himself as one of the actors of the moment from his role as Hangman in Top Gun: Maverick (2022). Then came the success of the romantic comedy With everyone except youthe action of Twisters and the acclaimed Hit Manwhich he also co-wrote.

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That impulse led him to found his own production company and work on new projects for Universalin addition to a future film with J.J. Abrams.

His attitude, he acknowledges, is inspired by Sylvester Stallone: ​​”I never wanted to wait for the phone to ring. Because it never rings, or not with the calls you want,” he reflects.

And he defines the current climate of the industry with a metaphor that sums up the creative chaos: “Hollywood is the Wild West right now.”

The survivor bets on something deeper than a traditional action film: it questions the way we consume violent content, the indifference towards what is real and the power of digital manipulation.

Powell sums it up like this: “In 2025, the hero that matters is not the one who can kill everyone. It’s the one who has something to lose.”

Richards is not invincible. Is a desperate father. And that—in this new era of cinema—seems much more subversive than any action scene. “Arnold knows what it takes to make a good action movie. The fact that he came out saying he liked it… that’s enough for me,” concludes Powell.

LV/EM